Chat the DISNEY Musical
by theonewhosawitall
Summary: Another story full of songs for you to find. Adrien was trapped in a life he didn't feel he belonged in until Chat Noir cataclysmed him free. Now he's got friends, a heart to win, and a whole city that sees him as a hero. But his father still disapproves. How can Adrien truly be happy until he has the nerve to stand up to his father? And what will happen to him when he does?
1. Chapter 1

Being the son of a world-renowned fashion designer and former model was a difficult and demanding job, but Adrien Agreste was used to it. All his life he had been tangled up in the clothes business of his father, working for him like a well-behaved robot. He knew nothing better. Whenever they weren't at parties or fashion shoots or runways, his father, Gabriel, kept him at home in their mansion in Paris, locked away from the world.

"If anyone saw you on the street, unprotected, they could kidnap you and take you away forever, and then what would I do? What could I do without you?"

Gabriel had made keeping Adrien safe his top priority since his mother died. Before then, Adrien and his mother and their bodyguard could go outside and visit parks and galleries to help him understand his home schooling. Not anymore. Whenever he went outside now, it was to accompany his father. Recently he had branched into controversial fashion which angered groups of protesters waiting outside of fashion shows. Today's was fur. He was using real fur on his runway outfit even though he wouldn't use it (as he had assured Adrien when he asked) on the final products.

"Ignore them Adrien. Find your changing room, I'll be right back," his father ordered.

Adrien begrudgingly obeyed. His bodyguard followed him. He stood stoically between Adrien and the protestors. Suddenly there was yelling. One of the protestors had tripped over something. She was laying across the floor now, in pain, with a friend kneeling over her.

"You ok girl?" He heard the friend ask.

There was concern in her tone. They weren't related - they couldn't be, they didn't look anything like one another - but they cared about one another. Adrien frowned. Gabriel always said the world was too cruel and wicked to care.

"Move aside!"

His bodyguard was rough when he wanted to be. He practically shoved the girls aside. Adrien frowned deeper. They were about his age, and they were out here fighting because they cared, and being treated badly for it.

As he got closer to the girls, he reached out. "Hey, are you ok?"

The main girl didn't even glance up at him. She put her arm around her friend and helped her to her feet, and said, sharply, "she's fine. No thanks to him."

Adrien shank back slightly. This girl was sharp. She was a fighter. And she didn't like him.

"Is there anything I can do to-"

"Come along Mr Agreste!"

The bodyguards arm was almost as wide as Adrien's head. When he put his arm between him and the girls to shield him, Adrien couldn't even see their clothes anymore. He couldn't recognise the details of their face. Like they never existed. Adrien sighed. The only friend he had was Chloe and she had more friends than just him, which she never failed to mention when they were stuck together at parties and in the studio.

"I need to talk to my father. Is Nathalie around?" Adrien asked the bodyguard.

There was a grunt as he was ushered into the changing room set up for him, which roughly translated to "I'll check", but Adrien knew from experience that he wouldn't. Or if he did she would tell him she was too busy to be interrupted. Alone in the smallish changing room, Adrien realised he could hear the chanting of the protesters outside. He glanced up. High up on the wall there was a window. He dragged a chair to the wall, to climb on it to see through the window. Down on the street by the door they had come through, there were the protesters. Sitting on a bench, sharing water from the same bottle, were the two girls that he had tried to talk to. The girl who had spoken to him was on the left. He recognised the brown hair that flowed so seamlessly into red as they passed her glasses. The girl beside her had dark blue hair in bunches tied with ribbon. She was the one that had tripped.

The door opened behind Adrien and a runner popped her head around. "Mr Agreste, we will be ready for you in ten minutes is there anything you need in the meantime?"

"No - oh, wait, can I send things to the protesters?" Adrien asked.

"The - the protesters? Um, sure. What would you like to send?"

He glanced at the window again. The girls were sharing their water...

Marinette and Alya eyed the box of bottled water that was placed on the step for the protesters to grab at their leisure. Alya was more suspicious than Marinette, but Marinette heeded her advice when she pointed out that it was odd that someone inside would send them something nice.

"Do we trust it?" Marinette asked.

Alya rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I don't know, it came from his son. He seemed concerned when you fell..."

"Was that his son?" Marinette gasped.

"Adrien I believe," Alya tapped through her phone looking for interviews and stories about him, to see how similar he was to his father. "He seems to be a good kid. Maybe he doesnt want us dehydrated."

"That's nice."

Alya agreed a she slid her phone into her pocket and bent over to take a bottle. "He must take after his mother."

Adrien beamed as he watched the two girls taking a bottle each. They had seemed sceptical, even from this distance. When they took a bottle, he beamed viciously. Suddenly Adrien heard a squeal from the next room, followed by shouting.

"Girl, we've got work to do!"

"Pass me the paint and glue!"

"Miss Chloe you shouldn't glue that, it'll burn!"

"Will it hold them down?!"

"Yes, but you won't get it off!"

"When one knows the world is watching, one does what one must. Even with glue. Some minor adjustments - not for my vanity, but for humanity!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. That girl was a pain, but she was at least a pain he was willing to put up with. One he didn't see often enough to annoy him that much. The dressing women let him in. He hovered by the door while she hid behind the screen, but all too soon she came striding out to show off the girl's alternative to the outfit he would be modelling.

"Do I look amazing Adrien?!" She cooed, "utterly amazing!"

After each little step she would pose to show off her high-class breeding, even as Adrien refused to comment.

"Sometimes its too much for even me!" She smirked, smugly.

He watched as she leaned over the dresser to fix her glittery eyelashes with her pinkie finger.

"But when all of the world says yes, who am I to say no?" Adrien mouthed along to the speech she had given a million times since he first met her.

"The world is saying no," he pointed out, "Haven't you seen the protesters?"

"The noisy crowd out front? No, I was talking to the reporters," she let out a snide chuckle, "Yes, they can covert my image but they're barking up the wrong tree. The poor paparazzi all over the city, I have their hearts and they have my pity."

"They follow pretty, which is why they follow both of us," Adrien pointed out.

Chloe choked suddenly. The dressing girls made a quick get away before she could tear him apart. Adrien took an urgent step towards the door in case she attacked him.

She didn't move though, other than to give him a pitiful, condescending smile and explain, firmly, "Pretty?! Pretty is nice, but still, it's just pretty. No, my dear Addikins, PERFECTION, that's me!"

Adrien rolled his eyes and chuckled. Chole was so full of herself here that he was convinced that she couldn't be like that everywhere. After all, she went to proper school. Those other kids wouldn't let her be so arrogant.

"Hey chole, what school do you go to again?"

"ugh, why? I don't want to think about that place while I'm here. If you do go and talk to my teacher. She's in the third row back with some of my classmates. They came to cheer me on," she rolled her eyes in disgust.

Adrien tilted his head in confusion. "You don't cheer at a fashion event."

Well, they did. Loudly. Repeatedly. Adrien trotted down the runway and they were muttering between themselves and beaming, and then Chole appeared, and they cheered like the English at a football game. Gabriel scowled at Adrien to keep serious and ignored them. Even when he tried he couldn't help it. his smile kept crawling back when the nerdy boy in green looked up from his book because the built-up boy in red shook his shoulders, making both of them cheer loudly. They seemed delighted to be there and excited to support Chole, even it upset everyone else there. They got hushed by critics and responded by chanting CHLOE-CHLOE-CHLOE!

"Miss Bourgeois I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't invite your friends along to this sort of event again. they are the wrong sort of people for this situation!" Gabriel stated, sharply backstage.

Chole scoffed in offence, "Those people are NOT my friends! I didn't invite them they brought their own tickets!"

Adrien frowned. She was so ungrateful. No one ever came to cheer him on. Not even his father half the time.

"What are you waiting for Adrien?! Get the coat! The winter coat, quickly now!" he snapped.

Adrien bowed his head and obeyed. There was no use talking to his father when he was in this mood. Although it wasn't often that he wasn't in this mood recently. The coat was black leather down to his knees with black smooth fur running around the collar and down both lapels. The fur was warm and soft and silky, which made him shudder. Of course, it was warm and soft. Until recently it had been in use by a living breathing animal. He hoped that the leather hadn't, but of course it had. Adrien frowned. He really didn't want to put on that coat.

"Need a hand Mr Adrien?"

Before he could answer, the dresser had taken the coat from the hanger and draped it over his shoulders so he could fit his arms through. It still smelt of cow. His stomach lurched in disgust.

"This way Mr Adrien, we have to get you on and Chole on stage at the same time!"

The runners ushered him in front place, ignoring how queasy he looked. Not maybe they just didn't notice. No one seemed to notice when something upset Adrien. He didn't want to make a fuss, but standing in this cow skin with whatever fur they had stripped from an animal to cover him in, made him extremely uncomfortable. Across from him, Chole stood waiting for their cue. Her coat was white. She stroked the white fur lovingly, lifting it up around her chin to breath in the smell.

"This is gorgeous!" she gasped.

Adrien winced. She was smaller than him, and the coat came down to her waist. He couldn't help thinking about the size of the poor cow that got killed to make something that small. All he could do was hope it was heading to the butchers anyway. when their cue came, Chole took centre stage by force. She strode down the cat-walk, to the whoops and cheers of her classmates, and Adrien posed beside her, with the best smile he could muster at the time. The fur and leather may not have been faux, but his smile was. he came to a decision for himself. he was going to talk to his father and finally say everything he wanted to.

"Father I don't want to wear leather and furs, and I don't want to be paraded like cattle!" the irony was not lost on him, even if it was on his father, if he was listening, "I want to go to a real school!"

"good, good, you do that Adrien just don't leave the house without your body guard," Gabriel stated.

He was trying to get on cataloguing the outfits again, to make sure that they had all come back after the fashion show so he could go to the after party. He wasn't listening.

"you can't expect me to take a bodyguard to school, father," Adrien scoffed.

Gabriel frowned. "school? What about school? You're not going to school."

"but you just said-"

Gabriel straightened up and looked down on him sternly. "Look at you, as fragile as a flower! A sapling. We keep you inside to keep you safe and sound."

"I know, but-"

"trust me Adrien, I know what's best for you."

"Father, I know it'll be scary at first, but-"

"something will go wrong, and I will lose my son and my top model. How will I cope then?"

Adrien dropped his head. The guilt came flooding in, but he had to keep fighting. He had to argue his case. If he didn't, no one else would. Well, not anymore anyway.

"father-"

Gabriel frowned deeper. He dusted Adrien's shoulders down and straightened his back by poking him in the centre of his spine. Adrien fell back into the boarding school posture he had been trained to stand in since he was a toddler. All the while his father encircled him like a vulture.

"You're sloppy, and overdressed, and immature. You are far too naïve and gullible to leave the house alone, even for school."

"But it's not fair father!"

He stood over his son, too imposing to argue with. His hands remained behind his back. He hadn't so much as ruffled Adrien's hair since… his voice was hard and unwavering.

"Do not ask to leave this house again. ever."

Adrien hung his head low. "Yes, father."

"remember, son, I know best. To make sure you don't forget, you are not to attend the after party. I will call the car to take you home."

His father turned his back again. Adrien said nothing. tears burned the back of his throat, pinned back by the ball. All he could think about was his mother. No matter what Gabriel said, Adrien's mother always knew best, and always proved it. he was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the woman he was about to bump into. She yelped and leapt forward, before turning to grin at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bump into you," she smiled.

He gave her an apologetic smile. "It's fine… hey you're one of Chole's lot, aren't you?"

"I'm her teacher," she stated.

Her teacher?! A smile twitched up on Adrien's face. If his father wouldn't let him go to school, he'd just have to take matters into his own hands.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien gazed up at the school building. Butterflies niggled in his stomach for the first time in years. He tried to gulp them back. All he could think about was if his father was already looking for him. He was going to be in so much trouble. Which is why his heart skipped a beat when he heard his father's name.

"The trouble with Gabriel Agreste is his designs are amazing and I love them, but they're unethical."

Adrien turned his head to see who was talking. The blue haired girl from the protest. And her friend was with her! He went running up to them, delighted to know someone, even if it was this flimsy.

Alya snorted, "Gabriel Agreste. If he doesn't scare you, no evil thing will. To see him is to take a sudden chill. Like a spider waiting for the - hey I know you?"

Marinette turned to face the new person that Alya was talking to. She squinted slightly. He looked familiar to her too. He gulped nervously, but couldn't help smiling.

"I'm Adrien. I'm new."

Alya and Marinette shared an urgently, suspicious look between themselves, and then back at him.

"Adrien... Agreste?" Alya asked slowly.

"Um..." Adrien bit his lip and nodded sheepishly.

Marinette and Alya shared that look again. _shit_.

"We were just um... I mean I don't know how much you heard, but it was just that, err-"

Adrien shook his head to stop her nervous stammering. "It's ok. That's probably part of the reason he never let me leave anyway."

Alya tilted her head. "Girl what? He never let you leave?!"

Adrien shrugged. No one really asked him about himself before, outside of interviews that is, he wasn't sure what he should or shouldn't say. "He was worried about me being kidnapped. People would get a lot of money if they got get their hands on someone like me y'know!"

Adrien immediately regretted opening his mouth when he saw the look between the two of them. He mistook their disgust for plotting. Until they started complaining that is.

"That vampire bat!" Alya huffed.

"That inhuman beast," Marinette shook her head.

Alya agreed. "HE ought to be locked up and never released!"

Adrien frowned. That was a bit harsh. His father was firm and strict and sometimes excessively so, but he only did it because he cared about him. He was trying to protect him. The man had already lost his wife who had been one of his best models, losing his new best model, his own son, that was unthinkable. Although thinking that made the guilt rush back to his stomach and made him feel sick. A bell pulled him from his thoughts.

"Ah. Lesson time. Come on Adrien, class is this way," Alya declared.

Before he could move forwards to follow them, a long fancy car came sliding to a halt outside. The girls glanced over curiously, but said nothing. it was pretty clear that the tall skinny woman in the sharp suit and professional hair was here for Adrien.

"Um, d'you want us to wait, or?" Alya trailed off, pointedly.

Adrien glanced up at the school building again. he should have known he wouldn't get away with this.

"no. go on. I'll…" he trailed off.

He couldn't say he'd catch up, because he wouldn't. he knew as well as Natalie did that he was going to be dragged back home to be put back under lock and key. The girls left him to it.

"Adrien, please reconsider! You know what your father wants!" Natalie insisted.

"This is what I wanna do!" Adrien argued.

He considered just running to class now so they couldn't drag him away. He probably could have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for an old man who had fallen over a little way away. Adrien hurried over to help him to his feet, which the old man was grateful for. Gratitude wasn't any help when he found a gorilla blocking his path. Adrien sighed and hung his head so low his shoulders sagged.

"I just wanna go to school like everybody else. What's so wrong with that? Please don't tell my father about all this."

She never said she would, but she never said she wouldn't. he shouldn't have been surprised when Gabriel interrupted the lesson Nathalie was giving, simply to scold him.

"You are NOT going to school. I already told you."

"But father!"

"Everything you need is right here where I can keep an eye on you. I will not head you outside in that dangerous world."

"It's not dangerous, father. I'm always stuck in here by myself. Why can't I go on and make friends just like everybody else?"

"Because you are not like everyone else! You are my son!"

"But-"

"The world is cruel. The world is wicked. The only people we can trust in this whole city are in this house. You, Natalie, the body guards and me. I am your only friend. I who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you!"

"I know father, but I think-"

"How can I protect you, boy, unless you always stay where I tell you to be?!"

Adrien held his father's gaze as stubbornly as he could, but he still had to break his gaze first. His fathers were just too cold to hold.

"Just do as I say and stay in here! Is that understood?!"

Adrien scowled furiously down at the floor, holding his tongue. As soon as Gabriel huffed and turned to walk away without waiting for his answer, Adrien threw his book across the room. He stormed off to his own room, where he could sulk on his own.

Safe behind the windows and bricks, Adrien gazed down at the city from his bedroom window. He watched children his age and younger running around and playing together like the city was their playground. His gaze moved from the Eiffel tower to the cathedral, and across the Louvre. The history of this city was within his grasp if he could just get out of this stupid house alone for a change. These people wandered around chatting, playing, laughing, unaware of the gift they had out there. Ordinary people. free to walk about. Strolling by the Seine without a care. Adrien burned with envy and anger.

"I just want to go to a normal school and pretend to be a normal person! is that too much to ask?!" he complained.

Adrien's gaze was stolen by a large stone creature stomping past his house. Flashing police sirens alerted him to this sight. His eyes widened in shock. Police vs stone. An entertaining match if it's not right on your doorstep. Adrien switched on the tv urgently, ready to take in the news. The mayor was urging all Parisians to stay home until the situation was under control, but police were struggling to get it so. Especially with Rodger's arm in a sling.

"Woah…" he breathed.

As he was moving his hand up to his hair, he noticed something on his table. A small black box he had never seen before in his life. He frowned.

"what is this?"

Curiously, he picked it up. there were Chinese letters on the top, which made no sense to him. either these were written by someone who didn't understand Mandarin, or it was some ancient version of the language he couldn't understand. Adrien opened it, curiously. There was a sudden ball of light that flashed so bright he had to raise a hand to shield his eyes, and still cried out in alarm. When he lowered it, he was face to face with a small black cat that hovered in the air. Adrien gasped.

"No way... Like the genie in the lamp!"

The cat scoffed in offence. "I met him once. So he grants wishes, big deal! I'm way more personable! Plagg. Nice to meet you. Ooh, swinky..."

Adrien was disappointed this wasn't a genie. He could have wished to be someone else. Instead, he was chasing a flying, talking, cat which was trying to eat absolutely anything it could get its hands – err, paws, on. Typical. Just his luck. Opening a box had caused more damage than good again. could nothing go right for him?!

"I still don't know what you're doing here!" Adrien complained when he finally caught the kitten.

Plagg was very unimpressed to be being held in a fist. "Look, I'm a Kwami. I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction, got it?"

Adrien nodded. He didn't. he didn't understand anything that was going on, but he never did, and he was taught from childhood never to admit that. it would make Gabriel give that sigh… Adrien felt foolish to even think of it. Plagg didn't notice.

"Good. Now, you got anything to eat? I'm starving!"

Adrien shook his head. This was far too ridiculous for his usually bad luck to be causing it. "My dad's pranking me, right? Wait, he couldn't be. He has no sense of humour!"

Plagg suddenly became very serious and very urgent. "Your father must never know that I exist. Or anyone for that matter. You're going to be a super hero Adrien."

Adrien had often dreamed of some far-off place where people thought he was a hero. There would be crowds waiting for him, and they would cheer when they saw his face. That he was used to. This time, in this place, there would be a voice saying "this is it. this is where you're meant to be!" That's when he would know that every mile had been worth his while, because he would be right where he belonged. But right now, this was an unknown road, and it might be to his fate, or to his doom, but taking it would change _everything_ he knew.

"But I'm stuck here. I'm never even let to go to school! A superhero who's imprisoned in his own house?" Adrien asked.

Plagg was merrily unrolling loo-roll across the floor as he explained, "No good. That's why it's all going to change soon. If you're willing to change, that is."

"how?"

"become a cat."

"what now?"

"oh, come on!" Plagg's little green eyes shone like fire, "EVERYBODY wants to be a cat. A cat's the only cat that knows where it's at. You picking up on the feline beat yet?"

"I think everything else is obsolete," Adrien admitted.

It was hard to think of anything but felines when a tiny talking cat is destroying your room. This Plagg creature, he was going to be _very_ difficult to control. Plagg watched Adrien slide the ring onto his finger, and got a little over excited. So, unfortunately, did Adrien.

"Claws out! That's how you transform."

"Got it. Plagg, claws out!"

"No, wait! I haven't finished explaining!"

Being a superhero was a lot more appealing when a pretty - if clumsy - girl in red and black spots comes hurtling through the sky, straight into you, literally tying you together. She would be his partner. His sidekick, surely. This girl was so nervous she could barely look at him. she may have looked like a super hero, but she wasn't acting like one. She didn't even follow him when he went dashing heroically after this "Stoneheart", towards the stadium! He liked her though. She laughed at his joke. No one had laughed at his jokes since his mother vanished. This wasn't a pity laugh either. After all she had no idea who he was!

Every time Chat hit the statue man and he turned yellow before growing bigger. One hit and suddenly Chat was far out of his depth.

"Where are you, partner?!" He called hopefully.

There was only one person he could see around them who would fight was Alya. He only noticed when she very nearly got hit with the net. She was crouching by the exit filming on her phone, but her attention was on the roof of the stadium. She missed the moment when Chat Noir got caught by Stoneheart and couldn't fight anymore. In that moment, he needed his partner.

"What are you waiting for, super red bug?! The world is watching you!" Alya yelled.

Chat didn't know why that gave her courage enough to literally swing into action, but he was grateful when she landed on the grass beside them.

Her eyes twinkled at she said, "Animal cruelty? How shameful!"

Alya cried victoriously as Ladybug threw Chat's staff to him so he could prize open Stoneheart's fist. She helped him to his feet, and let him lean on her to steady himself.

"Sorry it took so long, Cat Noir," she said.

He beamed. She was good to him. Kind to him for no reason. She could very easily become his friend and he was desperate for one of those.

"It's cool, Wonder bug. Now, let's kick this Rocky behind!"

Overexcited, he shot towards the rocky foot of the akumatized villain. Ladybug grabbed his tail and yanked him back. That hurt more than you would expect in a skin tight catsuit. He caressed his tail as she spoke.

"Haven't you noticed? He gets bigger and stronger with every attack. We have to do something different!"

"Different how?"

She glanced over cluelessly. "Uhhh... I don't know."

"Okay then. Let's use our powers. Cataclysm!" Chat Noir threw his claws in the air excitedly as he summoned his power. "Apparently I destroy whatever I touch, look!"

He ran his hand along the net behind him even when she yelled not to. She was too late. The net burned black and crumbled apart like dust. He beamed.

"Cool! LET'S RUMBLE SOON-TO-BE RUBBLE!"

"CHAT NO!" Ladybug cried.

He leapt towards Stoneheart full of determination, and threw his claws out into his leg... and instantly flopped down onto the ground with a bump. He winced. Clearly he only had one shot to use his powers, and as he was being told by his new partner, five minutes before he turned back.

"Up to me now then," she sighed.

Chat Noir watched in fascination as she threw her yo-yo in the air and yelled "Lucky charm!"

He tilted his head and focused all of his energy on finding the akuma when she told him to. The fist. Something was balled up in the fist!

"what's your plan?" He asked.

Ladybug hummed thoughtfully and glanced around to see what she could use. Then, as if by magic, she had a plan. A crazy, impossible plan, that wouldn't work in a million years.

"Don't miss! Trust me!" She grinned.

Before he could ask what she meant she had swept him off his feet and was swinging him towards Stoneheart. Stoneheart caught him and roared.

"This girl is crazy!" Chat yelled, terrified.

He watched in horror as she made Stoneheart grab her, and capture both of them.

"Alya, the tap!" She yelled.

Alya nodded. She dove on the water tap and twisted it. The water inflated the suit she had gotten from her lucky charm. Stoneheart lets go of her as it expended too wide for him to hold. Chat watched Ladybug race over to break the akumatized object. A little black butterfly flew off away from them. The Stoneheart vanished and Ivan appeared in his place. Chat Noir gasped in awe, his gaze not leaving Ladybug.

"This girl is awesome. She's crazy awesome! You were incredible, miss... uh... Bug lady. You did it!"

"WE did it, partner!"

She held out her fist for him to bump. He beamed and bumped it willingly. His ring beeped.

"You should get going. Our identities must remain secret," she said.

Chat Noir bowed cheekily. "Farewell, milady. Let's do this again soon, okay?"

"Yeah, you and me will be together forever, you'll see," she grinned.

"We two can be good company. Just wait and see," he winked.

Ladybug threw her head back and laughed. The sound was like music to him. "Listen Chat, you haven't ever had a friend like me!"

That he could believe. He reluctantly ran off to keep his true identity hidden. When he fell in through his window and Plagg flew out of his ring, Adrien was still grinning like Cheshire cat. If this was what life would be like now, he could live with defying his father to do it.


	3. Chapter 3

Adrien had to get his chief to cook a collection of different types of food because he had no idea what the hell a kwami ate. They still had to wait for the food to arrive.

"Let's talk about my powers," Adrien declared.

Plagg groaned. "Let's talk about you. The powers can wait. Why aren't you happy?"

Adrien frowned. Fear shook through him. "I'm sorry?"

"You're not happy. I can tell. It doesn't take a magical being to work it out though. So why? What's wrong? This house looks amazing!" Plagg insisted.

"Yeah. Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat?

Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the kid... the kid who has everything?" Adrien complained.

Plagg looked around. "I mean... yeah. You've got a climbing wall and three computer monitors and a TV! Look at this trove. Treasures untold."

"But who cares?! No big deal! I want that!"

Adrien pointed out of the window, leaning against the wall between glass panes, looking out over the city again. Plagg tilted his head, staring out of the window.

"What?"

"All of it," Adrien insisted, "I wanna be out there where the people are. I wanna see them dancing in the park and walking by the river. Wandering free! Wish I could be part of that world."

"I can't help with that. Chat Noir can get you a hero's welcome but you'll stand out in a crowd!" Plagg said.

Adrien sighed and leaned his head against the window. "What I want more than anything is to go to school. To make friends. More than just Chole..."

They were interpreted by a knock at the door. Room service. Plagg chuckled. This kid wanted to be part of a world without this sort of thing. The news was on in the background as the reporters cooed over the new heroes of Paris. He knew who Chat Noir was, but the other half of the duo, that's who he wanted to know.

"Ladybug?! Her name is ladybug?!"

A smile curled across his lips. Chat Noir and Ladybug, heroes of Paris! It flowed easily off the tongue. His thoughts were interrupted by a clashing as Plagg threw a platter onto the floor, disgusted.

"what is this?!"

Adrien frowned in irritation. "My personal chef made all this!"

"If you expect me to get my energy back after the transformation, I need to eat something more... delicate!" Plagg grinned.

Adrien frowned suspiciously. "Okay. What do you want?"

Camembert cheese. Fantastic. All he ate was Camembert, which meant Adrien was gonna smell like stinky old cheese all the time!

The news was a lot more dramatic. "These victims transformed into stone beings are still like statues. The police are perplexed to what will happen to them. Will they come back to life or be frozen in time forever?"

Adrien frowned in confusion. "Plagg? What's going on? I thought we defeated him."

"Did you catch the akuma?"

"Akuma?"

"A black butterfly. Ladybug can catch it and she's the only one who can cure it. Only when she does that can she fix the damage the akuma caused."

"So I can't do anything without Ladybug?"

That was inconvenient.

"You can do anything that doesn't involve an akuma. Regular crime like theft. But only Ladybug can capture akumas and repair damage caused by supervillains."

"Paris is relying on our new guardian angels, Ladybug and Cat Noir to save us all. Our lives depend on them."

"Then here's hoping she solves this soon. We've got school in the morning," Adrien declared.

Plagg felt a deception coming.

Nathalie was waiting in the dining room for Adrien to make an appearance at seven in the morning. By that time he was already out the door and heading to school. It was easy to sneak out unseen now. Chat Noir had it easy, even if Plagg objected.

Plagg kept up with him easily as he raced across Paris and towards the school. "You're such a strange kid. Who would want to be at school when he can stay at home all day?"

"You don't get it Plagg, I've had enough of being shut up at home by my dad. I want to meet people and make friends! Go to a normal school like everyone else!"

Plagg groaned dramatically, "Uhhh, I think I'm feeling weak..."

"You know what's strange?" Adrien paused to unhook his bag from his shoulder and hand Plagg a wedge of camembert. "The fact that all you eat is this disgusting, rotten, smelly Camembert cheese and then I have to smell like it twenty-four seven! That's strange."

Defensively, Plagg countered, "If you want to be able to transform into a superhero, then stinky cheese is the deal my friend!"

The car skidded to a halt right as Adrien hit the third step. Nathalie was already shouting before she opened the car door.

"Adrien! Don't do this! Your father will be furious!"

"Tell him you got here too late. Please!" Adrien begged.

Natalie stepped forward, so Adrien raced up the last few steps, and in through the doors.

"Chloe?!" He called.

He glanced around searching for the only girl he knew by name. He heard the familiar squeal before he saw her.

"Adrikins! You came!"

Chole came racing over to throw her arms around him, giggling extatically. Adrien grinned. The usually unwanted attention of the fans meant that he couldn't back out of the school without serious accusations being thrown at his father. If anyone suggested that Gabriel couldn't control his son Gabriel would go off on a furious rant to rip them apart, and they would only suggest it if he now removed Adrien from school. Adrien only partly realised this. Nathalie figured out the rest. It was her job to add up the potential consequences and figure out how likely this was to damage their company image.

She got back into the back seat of the car with a huff. "I'll handle this."

School was not very different to heading into a fashion show to begin with. Students came up to him even with chole on his arm, to ask him to sign their magazines of him. The attention he was used to. The lack of adults, he wasn't.

Chloe leapt forward and announced to him, excitedly, "this is your seat, Adrikins. I saved it for you. Right in front of me!"

Adrien smiled. "Thanks, Chloe."

He laid his bag on the ground and took a seat next to a bored looking boy with headphones around his neck and his chin propped up by his elbow.

"Uh... Hey!" He held out a hand. "Adrien."

Nino glanced between the hand and his face, unmoving. In an accusing tone, he said, "You're friends with Chloe, huh?"

Adrien turned his head to see Chloe and Sabrina putting gum on a seat. Adrien frowned.

"Hey, what's that all about?" He asked.

Chole giggled. "The brats that sat here yesterday need a little attitude adjustment. I'm just commanding a bit of respect, that's all."

She gave him a self-satisfied smirk, pleased with herself for her subtle ways of ruining someone's day. Adrien frowned deeply.

"You think that's really necessary?"

Chole chuckled as she took her seat behind him. "Ah, you've got a lot to learn about school culture, Adrikins. Watch the master."

Adrien shook his head. He knelt down to try and peel the damp chewing gum off of the seat, but it came off on his fingers. He groaned in disgust.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Adrien looked up in alarm. The two girls that he knew from the protest - oh crap he didn't know their names!

"Umm...I..."

He didn't have an excuse. The blue-haired one glanced up at Chloe and Sabrina as they laughed manically. Her shoulders sank.

"Okay. I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny," she spat.

Adrien shook his head urgently, "No, I was just trying to take this off!"

"Oh really?" She asked, sarcastically. Her eye curled back to Chole and Sabrina's manic giggling. "You're friends with Chloe, right?"

Adrien's shoulders sank low in disappointment. His first day and his connections - connections that got him far outside of these walls - were dragging him down.

He took his seat miserably and Chole leaned over her desk to say, sweetly, into his ear, "Now do you see what I mean about respect?"

Adrien's focus was on Marinette and Alya as they took their own seats. Marinette left a tissue over the gum so she wouldn't sit on it accidentally.

Alya lowered her voice to speak, "Maybe he doesn't take after his mother then."

That cut Adrien deeper than he would ever admit. They didn't know him! They didn't know his mother! Maybe his father was right. Coming here was a mistake. Then Nino nudged him.

"Why didn't you tell Marinette it was Chloe's idea?"

Adrien shrugged. "I've known Chloe since I was a little kid. I know she's not perfect, but I can't throw her under the bus. She's like my only friend."

It sounded pathetic to him. Stupid even. But Nino glanced him up and down, and broke into a smile.

"I'm Nino. It's time for you to make some new friends, dude."

Adrien perked up slightly. Nino grinned at him. Miss Bustier cleared her throat to make the class settle down, and started the register.

"Agreste, Adrien?"

Adrien's eyes widened. He was in trouble already?! He hadn't even put the gum on the seat, Chole had! This wasn't fair!

Nino leaned over and whispered, "You say "present"."

"Uh... Present!" Adrien blurted.

Miss Bustier smiled at him, which reassured him. The embarrassment eased slightly now. Maybe this place wasn't so bad. In fact Adrien was beginning to enjoy himself!

Then Stoneheart came bursting through the brick wall yelling in a raspy voice "Mylène!"

Adrien dashed into the locker room, unable to believe his bad luck.

"My first day of school and I don't even get it past roll call!"

Plagg beamed, "A day off? Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Adrien shoved his things in the locker and picked up the kwami. "Oh, no! We've got homework to do. Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir gasped in awe as Ladybug soared across the sky to catch Chole as she hurtled towards the ground. Ladybug caught her in her arms, and Chat Noir beamed. That girl was special.

"I didn't promise," Chole giggled.

Ladybug tilted her head, "What?"

Chole shoved her way free and raced over to throw herself into her father's arms. Chat smirked. Chloe may have been a pain, but when it came down to it, she was just a kid too.

"We're clear to attack!"

"NO!" Ladybug and Chat cried at the same time.

Ladybug raced over to the police. "It'll only make things worse!"

Rodger scoffed. "I have a new plan, unlike you! Move aside and let the pros do their thing. You've already failed once!"

Chat Noir scowled. They hadn't failed. They were just learning the ropes! He'd show them! But ladybug... Ladybug seemed genuinely hurt.

In a soft voice she said to him, "He's right, you know. If I had captured Stoneheart's akuma the first time around, none of this would have happened! I knew I wasn't the right one for this job..."

Chat frowned. She was his partner. She had already saved him twice. He needed her by his side. He laid a hand on his shoulder.

"No. He's wrong, because without you, she'd no longer be here. And because without us, they won't make it, and we'll prove that too. Trust me, young miss. Okay?"

Ladybug chuckled softly and glanced up to smile at him. That smile... it took his breath away. Suddenly Stoneheart started coughing deep, choking coughs, and spat out a swarm of akumas. The heroes gasped in horror as the akumas formed the shape of a face. A deathly silence curled out across the bridge. Utter horror chilled Paris for a single, terrified, moment.

"People of Paris, listen carefully!" The face boomed in a dark voice that shook Chat Noir to the bone. "I am Hawk Moth!"

Ladybug seemed a lot less terrified than Chat. "Hawk Moth?" She repeated.

Chat glanced at her. He had a feeling they were going to be working together a lot in the coming months at least.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring now. You've done enough damage to these innocent people!"

Silence still gripped the city. Even Chat Noir found himself speechless. Then, slowly, there was a sound of clapping. Chat Noir turned in surprise to see Ladybug clapping slowly and walking forward, towards the face. Any trace of fear she was feeling she didn't show. Chat Noir's eyes never left her. He was transfixed on her. Amazed.

Her voice was stronger than Hawk Moths, and she didn't need an army of akumas to do it. "Nice try Hawk Moth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawk Moth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and YOU will hand us YOUR Miraculous!"

Around Chat, he could hear the gasps of surprise turning into cries of support as Ladybug used her yo-yo to catch the akuma causing this face to appear. The others flew off, escaping her wrath. Then she turned to face the city, and all then reporters, to deliver a message on his behalf.

"Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!"

She opened her yo-yo and a flock of pure white butterflies filled the sky like a huge, glowing angel. The crowds that had gathered over the city, watching on the TV, watching in person, every person in the city, began to cheer. All of them. Some reached out to clap his shoulders and cheer him on too. Adrien couldn't hide his pride.  
A crowd cheered when they saw his face.  
They gave him a bright, warm welcome.

"This... this is where you belong..."

The voice. It was Plagg. Somewhere deep inside him, he could hear his kwami. He could feel his life twisting into something new. Something greater than he could ever have expected. Thanks to Plagg, sure, but thanks to Ladybug. Chat Noir turned to beam at her. The most beautiful girl he had ever met. The most amazing person he had ever met. His chest burned with joy and... affection?

"Whoever she is, beneath that mask, I love that girl!"

The joyous cheers of triumph were cut short by the roar of Stoneheart as he rose again from where he had fallen.

"You'll never take Mylène from me! Come to me, my stone beings!"

He began to climb the tower like king Kong, and Chat Noir raced to Ladybug's side, so she wouldn't have to feel like she faced him alone. Unfortunately, the stone beings had a similar order.

"We're surrounded! What do we do now? We can't attack him!" Chat cried.

Ladybug's mind was whirling, but her voice was calm. "Yes, but we know where the akuma is."

Chat nodded, "In his clenched fist. The one he's holding Mylène with."

"So we know he's in love with her... That's it!" A lightbulb flicked on making her eyes twinkle, "We don't separate Stoneheart and Mylène, we bring them closer together! They're made for one another! It's just they don't know it yet!"

Chat Noir wasn't entirely sure how she suggested they do it.

"Ugh... Not really following you, but... guess I better trust you."

She had already swung off up towards Stoneheart, leaving him on his own to bat off the other stone beings.

"Something tells me that this is how it's gonna be from here on out," he muttered.

Chat used the stone beings as stepping stones to leap from each one upwards to the top of the tower, where Ladybug was already trying to reassure Mylène.

"Help! I'm scared of heights!"

"Everything's gonna be alright!"

Chat glanced down at them. Stoneheart was holding her close to him. Tightly too. Chat frowned.

"How are you planning to get them closer than they already are?"

"By using our powers! Lucky Charm!"

Chat watched in fascination as she threw up her yo-yo, and a parachute appeared. Ladybug mirrored his frowned.

She muttered, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Chat felt a stone hand grab him tightly and hurl him backwards. He yelped, but landed, almost safely, a few feet back down. He heard Ladybug yelling to him.

"His hand! Get ready!"

 _get ready for what?!_

Chat didn't see Ladybug force Stoneheart's hand to bring Mylène close enough that she ended up kissing him, but he did see Stoneheart drop her. She screamed. Chat Noir was about to run to help when the akumatized paper fell past him. He grabbed it and smashed it with his staff. Ladybug landed gracefully beside him and whooped in delight. She caught the akuma in her yo-yo, beaming.

"Cat Noir, take care of Ivan!"

Adrien always followed orders, even if he didn't want to, but for some reason when they came from her, he wanted to. Even though they had only just met, and he didn't even know who she was, he knew he'd follow her to the ends of the earth if she asked.

And also he was pretty excited to show the entire world how _his_ powers worked.

"Cataclysm!"

A huge rusty stick shot out from the towers leg, and he surfed along it to catch Ivan as he fell. More gracefully, Ladybug caught Mylène in her arms, and pulled her parachute. As her parachute bloomed, he grinned. He felt a tug off affection for her.

She already had him falling.

Ladybug threw her lucky charm in the air and it disintegrated into bright blooms of red and black, shining through the air in a breath-taking display of pure energy.

"Whoa... Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked.

There was awe in her voice as she said, barely more than a breath, "It's beautiful... and amazing... It's...um... Miraculous!"

He laughed affectionately. SHE was miraculous. She nudged him and indicated to where Ivan and Mylène were talking. Mylène hugged him and Ladybug cooed.

"Oh, they're so made for each other!"

Chat couldn't resist. "Just like us too."

Everything from the Eiffel tower to the stone beings, returned to normal. His miraculous beeped. The clock had struck midnight. Cinderella had to leave the ball.

Ladybug grinned at him. "Time to split. See you soon, Cat Noir."

Chat grinned back, "Can't wait, milady."


	4. Chapter 4

If you thought that Adrien was surprised that his father sent him out before his lessons could start, in the car with Natalie and the gorilla, you'd be wrong. This wasn't the first time his father had woken him up and sent him away to punish him, without even being there himself. That's why there was a TV in the seat in front of him. Simply so his father could scold him. When they pulled up in front of the school, Adrien's heart sank.

His father's voice was cold and sullen. "You disobeyed me, Adrien. Take a look at that school."

Reluctantly, Adrien raised his head and gazed up at the school. All of his classmates were already inside. He recognised one or two hovering by the door. In the back of his mind he half-hoped they were waiting for him, but he knew they weren't.

"You will never, I say, never go back there again."

Adrien still had the fight in him. he interrupted with, "Father, no-"

His father didn't even pause to hear him. he continued, still cold, "Without your bodyguard. He will drop you off and pick you off every day. Nathalie has offered to organize you a new schedule. You'll be continuing your music, Chinese and fencing classes and your photoshoots."

Adrien's eyes widened. He stared up at Natalie. She moved her head towards the window instead of looking at him. she was uncomfortable with emotion, but he could tell that she was holding back a smile, however small. Adrien beamed so wide he thought he would split his face.

"Thank you, Nathalie! Thank you, father!"

He leapt out of the car and race into the school with a spring in his step and a beam on his face. Plagg peered out from his pocket, holding back a grin.

"A really weird kid!" he repeated.

Adrien laughed. He pushed open the door of the classroom. Nino beamed and welcomed him. Adrien noticed that Marinette and Alya had moved. They sat behind him now. chole was over where they usually sat, looking furious.

"what's that all about?" he asked Marinette, grinning.

Marinette glared at him, and huffed, turning away so he would get that she didn't want to talk to him. Adrien's chest sank. He had forgotten that he wasn't very liked here. Nino leaned over as he took his seat.

"Dude, you wanna make friends, right? Well, go talk to Marinette. You know, about the chewing gum."

"But Chole-"

"Chole's only friend is Sabrina. If you wanna be like her fine, otherwise, talk to Marinette!"

Adrien bowed his head. He didn't want to be like chole. he had realised recently that she was as selfish inside of school as she was at the fashion shows. He glanced over at Marinette. She had moved on as if she hadn't just snubbed him, and was giggling over something Alya was showing her on her mobile.

"But what should I say to her?" Adrien asked Nino.

Nino shrugged, "Just be yourself."

Adrien sighed. it wasn't advice that Adrien appreciated, but it was true. If he could find a way to confess to her, properly, and let her see the real him, he was confident she would forgive him. Adrien busied himself with working on his apology between lessons, and ran it by Nino. He offered advice as well as he could, but he didn't know her as much as he knew other people in the class. He'd grown up with Rose. If he needed to apologise to Rose, Nino could have sorted it out in seconds, but Rose would have forgiven him seconds before he tried. Adrien attempted to talk to Marinette again at lunch but Chole dragged him away. The later it got, the more hopeless he felt. If he didn't apologise today, he wouldn't get another chance to do it and sound sincere. He was worried that she would think he would learn Chole was an easy target (which she was, because he already knew that) and had blamed it on her to save himself.  
He couldn't bare thinking anyone saw him like that.

Finally at the end of the day, he wandered to the doorway, and found her trapped in the last sheltered part of the school, the stairs. She was standing with her bag in her hands, watching the grey sky, waiting for the rain to stop. There was a bored but curious look of content on her face. He wandered out, glad to have his umbrella with him.

"Hey," he smiled.

She turned away again. he sighed, and opened his umbrella. This was his last chance. He had to confess. But all the apologies he had built up in his head over the course of the day, were gone. All he could do was tell her the truth, and hope that was enough to be forgiven.

"I err, I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear," he glanced back at her, and saw she was listening, which spurred him on. "I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of... new to me."

Marinette glanced down at the puddles forming on the steps. Adrien glanced over at his father's car as it rounded the corner. He wouldn't have to wait in the rain long, but she would. He held the umbrella out to cover her. for a moment he wasn't sure she'd take it, but a sudden clap of thunder made her eyes widen. Hesitantly, she took it. somehow she found a way to cause it to snap shut over her face. Despite his better judgement, Adrien let out a bright laugh. At first he thought he might have offended her even though it was involuntary, but she peered out from underneath the umbrella, and smiled sheepishly. Adrien leaned over and pushed it open for her. she bit her lip and smiled. He smiled back. He felt forgiven, even if she didn't say it.

"See you tomorrow," he grinned as he stepped out into the rain.

"Uh... see you to...mo... tom... Ha-ha!" she called. Then, quietly, she added, "Whoa, why am I stammering?"

Tikki flew out, beaming excitedly, and said, "Hey! I think I might have an idea!"

Marinette laughed a little awkward laugh. Plagg looked back, beaming excitedly from Adrien's jacket. "First day of school and we already have two lovebirds."

Adrien snorted, "Whatever. She's just a friend. Oh... a friend..."

Adrien glanced back. She was still watching him. she waved, sheepishly. He grinned, and waved back. A friend. With her and Nino, that made two. Already he was doing better than chole. and then there was Plagg. If he didn't count as a friend – well he just did. His very best friend!

"Come along Adrien, we have to be at fencing in ten minutes!" Natalie called.

Adrien climbed into the car, and they pulled away, leaving Marinette alone in the rain, holding onto the umbrella tightly.

"I... I don't understand..." Marinette confessed.

Firstly, she didn't understand why someone as awesome as Alya would be friends with her. secondly she didn't understand why she had been chosen OVER Alya to be Ladybug. Thirdly, and most importantly, she didn't understand why she suddenly felt her heart glow whenever she thought of Adrien. That confused her more than anything else.

Tikki was hiding in the wires of the umbrella, and giggled. "As you go through life you'll see there is so much that we don't understand. The only thing we know is that things don't always go the way they were planned to."

"The best made plans of mice and men often go awry," Marinette said.

Tikki beamed brightly, "exactly! But you'll see we'll never turn away. Even if your dreams come undone and your life goes off the rails-"

"I don't think my life ever had rails."

"Well now it does. And I'm going to be by your side, filling you with hope because you fill with pride."

Marinette gave a small, worried whimper. "If there's so much I must be, can I still just be me? The way I am?"

She glanced down at a puddle forming at the edge of the road. Her reflection shimmered back at her, warped by the constant barrage of raindrops that caused ripples to bloom and take over the glossy surface.

"Can I trust in my own heart or am I just one part of some big plan?" she asked.

Tikki hummed thoughtfully. She had stood by the side of every single ladybug since the first. Even those that were gone were within her. all their knowledge and their mistakes as ladybug and outside of the mask, Tikki remembered it. she carried them with her, in her heart, to be more helpful to the next ladybug. To Marinette. Which is why she had the answer she had. It had forced over generations.

"Trusting in your heart is what creates the plan. You need to listen to it, just as much as you listen to me. Your journey has only begun Marinette. You're going to cry, tears of pain and tears of joy. But the one thing that will always be there, one thing nothing can destroy, is the pride, deep inside you. I know that, because it lives in me too. We are one Marinette,"

"We… are one?"

"We are like the earth and sky. All the wisdom to lead, all the courage that you need, you will find it in me."

Marinette thought about this in silence for a while. A smile curled its way across her cheeks as she did. She glanced up at the spotty kwami in her umbrella. "I love you Tikki."

Tikki nuzzled her head against Marinette's affectionately. "I love you too Marinette."

She loved all of her ladybugs. Marinette was just the newest. Tikki knew she would make her proud. She already had.


	5. Chapter 5

Nino and Alya leaned against the wall as they waited for their order. He tugged his headphone down from his ears when Alya came closer.

"They're friendly," Alya grinned.

She gestured to the table they had claimed. Marinette and Adrien were sitting there together on the same side, closer than necessary.

Nino scratched his chin in confusion. "She didn't even like the dude."

Alya snorted and folded her arms, a little smug that she knew something he didn't. "Girl it's a tale as old as time."

Nino tilted his head. It was true they seemed close now. Adrien sat beside Marinette willingly and not only did she let him, she beamed at him.

"They were barely even friends, and then one of them bent unexpectedly - probably Marinette."

"No, I think it was Adrien. He made a little change and got rid of Chloe," Nino said.

Alya snorted, "A little change?!"

Nino grinned back at her. "Small to say the least!"

Both laughed together at Chole's expensive, unaware that she could hear them and was scowling. She made no attempt to defend herself, but stormed off instead. Chole could defend herself when someone was attacking her, but these two, they acted as if that was just how she was. Like they knew her.  
Whenever her father made extra of something that didn't sell, he would give it to Marinette to take to school so it didn't get thrown away. She was used to people - Alya obviously, but Rose and Juleka and Ivan too sometimes - asking to share. Marinette was more than willing to share with anyone who wanted to, but right now, that was Adrien. She just pushed the box towards him, and muttered about taking as many as he wanted.

"Wow, thanks Marinette!" He beamed.

He took one, and bit into it. The sounds of delight he made, made her grin proudly.

"Amazing, where did you get these?!" Adrien beamed.

Marinette was too worried about stammering to tell him, so Tikki spoke, pretending to be Marinette. "Want another one?"

Marinette was scared that an akuma would rear their head now that Adrien and she were sharing food. Adrien had come in unprepared for lunch, so she gave him some macaroons her father had baked this morning.

"Mmm, if this is your lunch, I'll forget every day just to share yours!" He joked.

"Awesome, I mean, it's awesome that you're awesome - that you think I'm awesome - that you think my lunch is awesome!"

Alya giggled behind her hand, "poor Mari. Ever the same. Always surprised she has to talk."

Nino laughed too. He had noticed the stammering around Adrien, and assumed she was just star struck still. After all she adored his father's designs. The two of them wandered over to save their friends from each other.

"Hey girl, you got macaroons?!" Alya beamed.

Nino's mouth started drooling immediately. "Marinette's parents own the bakery down the street, it's um..."

Nino's chin fell as his mind went blank. He frowned thoughtfully, and looked up into the corner of his mind as if he was searching his brain from that corner out, for the answer. It was in there somewhere, he just had to find it. Alya, Adrien, and Marinette watched him, grinning. His expression was so intense that it made Marinette giggle. Adrien beamed at her. She had a cute giggle. It felt familiar somehow.

"Think harder Nino, I know you can do it!" Alya teased.

Marinette and Adrien joined in with words of encouragement to help him remember, but it added to the pressure and his brow deepened. The expression of complete and utter focus on his face was so cute Alya had to snap a picture. She saved it into her phone for later use if she needed it. Adrien was sat across from Nino and had to lean over Marinette to click in front if Nino's face. His weight pressed against her arm, and she got a nose full of aftershave and camembert. Marinette turned bright pink and bowed her head low. As she felt her cheeks heat up, she was utterly grateful that everyone was focused on Nino. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he gasped triumphantly.

"The Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie!"

Around him the others cheered triumphantly to celebrate. Nino stood up on his chair and bowed, milking it slightly, but they laughed anyway. There was always a barrel of laughs when the four of them went out together. But certain as the sun will rise in the east, an akuma will strike at a frustrating time. To understand why now, let's take a step back, and follow chole.

Chole had gone off to sulk. She was annoyed anyway, before lunch time. In fact, she had been in a bad mood all day. You see a magazine had finally printed articles about the fashion show.  
One was about the protesters outside and mentioned a "supportive insider" who sent them water which was appreciated. (This mention deeply irritated Gabriel and he was already on the phone - and by him, I mean one of Natalie's assistants - searching for clues on who that had been so he could punish them personally.) Photographed in the middle of the protest were Marinette and Alya. That wound chole up no end. The other was about the show. It specifically mentioned the audience cheering "Chole" on, which meant they had to name Chole as the mayor's daughter, and they added, unnecessarily and in a sleazy tone, "as pretty as she is when dolled up, the girl is no model, which leaves you wondering whether the fact of who her father is had anything to do with her being included in the show."

"ITS NOT MY FAULT MY FATHER IS THE MAYOR!" She had fumed to the housekeep that morning, "I didn't ask to be born perfect, with a powerful father!"

Without pitying the brat in anyway, the housekeep offered some advice. "Maybe if you stopped being so perfect-"

"STOP BEING PERFECT?! Is that possible?!" Chole scoffed, "No! I could never be like any of those losers."

"Chole do you want a lift to school?" The mayor called.

"Daddy look! The reports are being mean about me again!" Chole whined.

"I'm sorry darling but the world is harsh. Not everyone can be like Ladybug," he cooed.

"But daddy!"

"Do you want a lift or not dear?"

"I do!"

"Call the car around will you Abella? Have a pleasant day princess."

Chole scowled, "Wait - you won't be coming too?"

He laughed, "No, no, I have business to attend to!"

"OH FORGET IT!"

Chole turned her phone off now, sulking by the bike shed. Her own father didn't care when she was insulted publicly by the reporters, why would he care if she was insulted at school. Other girl's parents cared. Chole didn't often want to be like other girls. She didn't care what other girls could see, or how free they thought they were, but sometimes...  
It just sounded so good! To wear her comfortable old jeans, or even the same jeans twice, or to eat a whole cake, with frosting! Living in the hotel meant she could feel the sun on her feet whenever she wanted, but she couldn't do normal things like dance around in my underwear! There were always cameras to film it or guests to catch her in the act. The world she was dreaming of had no cameras. No pressures. No phonies. No people who think that they knew her but don't.  
No one like Nino or Alya.  
Suddenly there was a voice in her head that sounded like someone was right by her ear. Someone cool and calm and ready to help her get revenge.

"I am Hawk moth," he sneered.

Chole gasped. "Hawk Moth the villain? You almost got me thrown to my death!"

"I admit that in the past I've been nasty. but you'll find that nowadays I've mended all my ways. I fortunately have a little power, and dear lady, please don't laugh, but I use it on behalf of the miserable, the lonely, and depressed."

Chole new she was one of them right now, even if she refused to admit it. And here, from nowhere, was a man far more powerful than her father, who could give her the power to get revenge.

"You poor unfortunate soul. In pain, in need," he cooed.

That pity was more than her father ever gave.

"Will you help me?" She asked.

The sneer in his voice was back. "Yes, indeed. You want to be like another girl? Someone the world doesn't mock? How about ladybug? I can make your just like her."

She gasped. "Just like ladybug? I'm in!"

"Perfect," he sneered, "But there is one more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment."

"My father deserves to be ripped off," she snarled.

Hawk Moth chuckled drily. "I like where your mind goes, but there is something else I want. I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle. Ladybug's earring, and Chat Noir's ring."

"That sounds fair," she grinned.

Hawk Moth chuckled darkly. She was taken over by a deep purple light, that transformed her into someone new entirely. The anti-bug. She looked just like ladybug, except black with red spots. Hawk Moth gave a dark chuckle. He glanced over at the peacock miraculous sat blatantly in the corner of the room, smugly.

"Now we've got them. The boss is on a roll," he sneered.

By the time they had subdued the anti-bug they still had five minutes to talk and try to get to know one another before Ladybug ran out of time.

"So buggy, what do you do for fun?" Chat winked.

She frowned, "Don't call me buggy."

"Will you bug out if I do?" He teased.

"Kitty you're a whisker way from making me mad," she winked.

Adrien beamed a dazzling beam of delight. He made her make a pun! A cat pun! Like him! That was his proudest achievement of the day. And yes, he had defeated an akuma today.

"I think we have to meet up and discuss patrols so we don't get caught out again," Ladybug said.

Chat Noir's beam grew. She wanted to spend time together! Just the two of them! Outside of fighting! That was the dream.

"Any time. Just drop me an e-meow."

Ladybug groaned heavily, "even you can't like that one!"

Chat shrugged sheepishly, "best one I could think of in the moment."

Ladybug shook her head, but smiled despite herself. "I'll see you around kitty."

"I can't wait."

Adrien danced around his room doing cat - um, CART wheels - happily. Plagg chewed on his camembert, savouring the taste and ignoring the gymnastics being performed around him. That is until Adrien bounced up to lean on the wall beside Plagg, beaming at him.

"I never had this feeling before Plagg! She gives me shakes and shivers I can't ignore and I see that there's more to life than just being free!"

Plagg did not care. Plagg wanted to be left alone to eat. Plagg was bang out of luck because Adrien was head over heels. Literally. He was still doing cartwheels because he was too full of love to stand still. Howling with laughter, he ended up in a heap on the floor, where he spread his arms and legs out to make snow angels on the wooden ground. He sat up and grinned at Plagg.

"I never felt my heart beat so fast! I'm thinking of her first and of myself last, and how happy I want her to be! It's amazing!"

"What, that someone in my life just might be loving you?"

Adrien gave him a manic grin and nodded excitedly. Plagg forced a smile, but it unsettled him. If Adrien found it amazing when someone could potentially love him, how little was he loved before? As far as Plagg was concerned Gabriel needed to up his game.

Blissfully unaware, Adrien was continuing on, extatically. "It's crazy! Something in my life is better than a dream. Plagg, I didn't know that I could feel this way!"

"Does she make you warm and happy inside? When she smiles do you get dizzy and starry-eyed?" Plagg asked.

"Yes! Can - can it be love?" Adrien asked hopefully.

It was. Plagg had no doubt of that. He knew what love was. He'd seen it more often than he felt it so he knew it when he saw it. He didn't want to give him false hope though, so he shrugged.

"That all depends on how she feels."

So how did Ladybug feel about Chat Noir? Who knows because at this point in time Ladybug was Marinette and Marinette was thinking about Adrien. So if you're asking, "how does Marinette feel about Adrien?" then you're in luck! Here it is!

"If there's a prize for rotten judgement then I guess I've already won that for treating him like he was chole. But loving him? No. I don't love him."

"Girl," Tikki said, knowingly.

"I'm busy being Ladybug and working in the bakery, and keeping my grades up. I can't distract myself with a boy! No man is worth the aggravation!" Marinette insisted.

Tikki giggled, "That's ancient history!"

Marinette smiled, relieved, "so you understand?!"

Tikki couldn't hold back her giggles, "Who d'you think you're kidding?! He's the earth and heaven to you! Do you try to keep it hidden, because we can see right through you!"

This was not what Marinette wanted to hear. She stamped her foot and whined miserably, "Tikki!"

Tikki was still giggling, "Girl you can't conceal it, we know how you're feeling AND Who you thinking of! Just admit it."

"No! no way! I won't say it," Marinette stated firmly.

Her heart was beating like a hummingbird and her hands felt clammy. The only thing she could think of was the way he pressed against her and how he smelt when he did. He was the only thing in her mind and it panicked her.

"You swoon you sigh why deny it?" Tikki asked.

"A wannabe designer falls in love with the son of her favourite designer?! It's too cliché! URGH! My head is screaming _GET A GRIP GIRL_!" She complained in frustration and balled her hands into fists in her hair.

Tikki flew over to gently pull Marinette's hands out of her hair. "Girl you can't deny it. This is how you're feeling, I saw the way you hit the ceiling when he smiled at you! Just say it."

"I won't say it! No, no, no!" Marinette whined.

"Give up, check the grin you're in love!"

"I'm not!"

"I won't give in until you admit you're in love."

"You're way off base! Get off my case!"

"Girl don't be proud, it's _okay_! You're in love!"

Marinette frowned deeply. She couldn't be in love. It was so inconvenient! She already had work in the bakery with her parents and homework, and now she had Ladybug, hiding Tikki AND keeping up with Alya to deal with. There was no time for a crush!  
But her gaze fell on the magazine she had taken from chole to pull out the akuma. There was Adrien, smiling that sultry smile that he gave when modelling. It was different to the one he had at school. When he laughed with them at lunch his smile was warmer. Brighter. Toothier. When he laughed that goofy laugh his eyes closed, but he opened them and they were glistening. Thinking about it made that laugh echo in her mind and that caused an involuntary smile.  
Her face fell as she was forced to face the truth Tikki was pointing out.

"Oh no I'm in love with Adrien!"

Alya threw her head back and laughed so hard that her legs flailed too.

"OF COURSE YOU ARE!" She whipped away the tears with a finger, "ITS SO OBVIOUS!"

Marinette turned flamingo under her hand as she tried to hide herself away. "Do you think he knows?"

"Fortunately for you, that boy seems as oblivious as you are, so probably not," Alya smirked.

"What do I do Alya? Help me, please?" Marinette begged.

Alya laughed again, quieter this time, and gave her friend a pitiful look. "Girl you honestly have nothing to worry about. This will pass. Things like this always do."

"Promise?"

"If it hasn't passed by this time next month, I promise I will help you to get him to fall in love with you and I won't stop until you're dating. Deal?"

Marinette beamed and shook Alya's outstretched hand to seal the deal.

"You're the best," she grinned.

"I know. You're very fortunate to have me. Pay my back by letting me see your homework," Alya said, hopefully.

"Alya! You said you'd do it this week!"

"I was going to, but then the akuma last night happened and I had to go film it for the lady blog!"

"You're going to get yourself hurt if you keep following her around," Marinette warned.

Alya smirked again, "Maybe she'll visit me in hospital to give me an exclusive interview there!"

Marinette smiled and shook her head. Nothing could stop Alya. Not even a broken bone. That was useful a month later, when this goddamn crush still hadn't moved on.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien cleared his throat nervously. "Thank you all for coming. I think I'm having girl trouble, and I could use your advice."

He was facing down every girl in the class that he didn't think would tease him or ask too many invasive questions. That was Mylene since she was the only one with a boyfriend, Rose because she was always kind and willing to help, Juleka because she always tried to help too, and Alix because she was another kind of strong girl who was more like Ladybug than any of the others.

"Does she know that you love her?" Alix asked first.

She blew her bubble gum so it bubbled and popped with a snap while she waited for an answer.

"I - I think so," Adrien said.

Again, Alix blew a bubble till it popped. Then she asked, mid-chew, "How?"

Adrien frowned. "Huh?"

Rose moved her hand onto the desk, as if pressing it there made more sense. "How does she know you love her? How does she know she's yours?"

Her bright blue eyes were sweet and understanding under her bright blonde mop, but it didn't make her any more useful. Adrien still didn't understand.

"Um... how do you mean?"

"How do you show her you love her?" Mylene asked.

"Err..."

There was a long pause that made Adrien feel awkward. None of the girls seemed fazed by it. Alix kept popping her gum. Her legs were up on the chair next to her, but now she took them down, to add to the gravitas of her words.

"It's not enough to take the one you love for granted. You've gotta remind her you love her or she won't know."

"She knows," Adrien insisted.

"How do you know she knows?" Juleka challenged.

Ladybug knew. At least he thought she did. He was constantly kissing her hand and flirting with her, but she never actually retaliated. She never acted as if she cared. Or maybe she didn't realise he was serious. He felt free enough to say what he was thinking as chat noir but it often came out as a pun. Maybe she thought this was an extension of that...

"It's not enough to just say it, even if that helps, you have to show it. Actions speak louder than words," Rose added.

"How do you know if someone loves you?" Adrien asked.

There was a muttering between themselves before Mylene cleared her throat. "Well usually he leaves a little note to tell me when I'm on his mind."

Rose and Juleka smiled at that which Adrien noted. Love notes. They were sweet apparently.

Rose gasped as she had an idea, "Or he could send you yellow flowers when the sky is grey!"

Adrien tilted his head waiting for an explanation as to why the colours mattered, but Rose was dressed head to toe in pink, so he assumed that was just Rose.

"The point is he finds a way to show it, little bit every day, so you never doubt he's in love," Alix stated.

"So I've got to show her I need her?" Adrien repeated, slowly.

"Yes! You can't treat her like a mind reader, you have to let do something to make her believe you love her!" Mylene agreed.

Poor Chat risked death for her on every attack, he wasn't sure what else he could do to prove anything. I mean just that morning he had been dangling from a tenth story window and she had been the only thing stopping him from falling to his death, so, like, he really did need her.

"What do you suggest?" Adrien asked.

"You could take her dancing. Then you get to hold her close," Juleka suggested.

"Ivan wrote a song just for me," Mylene looked, slightly embarrassed, but so happy she couldn't help smiling.

"You could wear her favourite colour, or try to match her eyes," Rose insisted. It always came back to colour with her. At least she was pretty in pink. "Or have a picnic! A private picnic! By firelight!"

"It doesn't matter what you do as long as you make her feel safe. I feel safe with Ivan. I know I can tell him anything, and he'll always be there for me and he won't make fun. I love him," Mylene smiled affectionately.

That won a smile from even Alix. Adrien stared down at his feet as he thought about that. He and Ladybug were the safest people in the city. Both were heroes. They saved the lives of the people, and of each other more often than not. The only thing that she couldn't - or wouldn't - tell him was who she really was. That was the only barrier between them. If she fell again and again, he could always be there to catch her, and never even catch her name.  
The door whined as it was opened and Alya gave the scene a slightly amused if puzzled smile as she leaned in the doorframe. Adrien's stomach dropped to see her.

"What are you guys doing in here?" She asked.

"Nothing!" Adrien answered way too quickly.

Alya squinted at him, suspiciously, and looked around the room. Alix didn't care about what was happening, but she wasn't a grass. Adrien said nothing was going on, so Alix stuck to that story. Mylene stared at her desk so she wouldn't crack under Alya's gaze. Her inquisitive gaze fell on Rose. Rose who was always excited about love stories. Rose who couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Rose who cracked instantly and blurted out:

"Adrien has a crush!"

Adrien's acid green eyes flashed with horror and he felt heat rise to his cheeks as they turned pink. Alix face palmed. Juleka laid a hand on Rose's shoulder and rolled her eyes. She was hopeless.

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Oh do you? Anyone we might know?"

 _Who knows?!_ "Maybe."

Alya smirked. Even if she didn't get it out of him, Nino would, and Nino would text her before Adrien got to the last syllable of her name.

"Well Romeo, I hate to drag you away from this romantic circle, but you said you'd teach me and Nino about physics," Alya said.

"Oh, I did, didn't I? Sorry girls, thanks for the great advice, it was really helpful," Adrien said.

Plagg disagreed, but he couldn't say that right now.

"Good luck!" Rose beamed.

Alix popped her gum and spat it into the bin instead of saying anything. She really was a wonderful type of girl. Soon it was just Alya and Adrien left. Adrien stood tall, in his model posture. He fell back into it whenever he got nervous, and that look she was giving him made him nervous. She was searching him for any kind of clue or indication as to who his crush could be. If she - creator of the lady blog - ever found out, she would never, _never_ , let it go.

"Come on then," she declared suddenly.

Adrien heaved a sigh of relief and let his shoulders fall. Alya was a lot of things, but she was a good friend above all. In the silence of the corridor she cleared her throat.

"Don't listen to them. They don't know anything, only one of them is in a relationship. if you wanna show a girl you love her, do it your way," she advised.

"My way?" Adrien repeated.

Alya nodded calmly. She was deliberately not looking at him, because part of her was worried he would take her advice and use it on a girl that wasn't Marinette. If that got traced back to her... it already felt like a betrayal to advise him, but he was her friend too and he needed help.

"Do it some way you're comfortable with. If you be yourself when you ask her out then there's no chance she'll be expecting too much, because she'll already know what you're like. And if you want to make sure that it's perfect, listen to her. she'll tell you the best way to do it, if you listen."

"You think?"

They paused in the middle of the corridor so she could say out of earshot of anyone she cared about, "You're a charming and handsome dude, I don't see any reason why a girl wouldn't be into that."

Adrien cracked a smile at that. She never complimented people. "Thanks Alya."

She started walking at a faster pace as if that would leave any trace of emotion well behind them.

"Although if you tell anyone I said that you won't be able to model for magazines for months."

"Why not?"

"Because I will turn your face purple," she stated.

"You wouldn't really... would you?" He asked, uncertainly.

There was a twinkle in her eye as she took hold of the library door handle and grinned at him. "Do you wanna find out?"

Adrien pulled a face. He didn't want to imagine what Alya was capable of. She was at every single crime scene he and Ladybug attended and always ready to film. That girl feared nothing. He shook his head. She snorted.

"Thought not."

She pushed the door open and walked straight to where Marinette and Nino were waiting.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Nino teased.

Adrien laughed more than that deserved. _If only you knew_.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had found a rooftop high up in the city where no one could interrupt them and they could see any danger the city had to offer tonight. It was just after dusk and, despite the high, full moon and the dazzling stars, everything was still tinged pearl blue. Chat Noir's messy hair looked silvery, and Ladybug's midnight blue eyes had stars in them. Neither mentioned this as they sat opposite each other, working on a single notebook with a single pen, both provided by her.

"I thought you would at least bring a pen," she said.

"Must have slipped my mind. The only thing up here is you, bugaboo," he smirked.

She tutted and rolled her eyes. Chat was worried he was annoying her, until he noticed that tiny little curl at the edge of her mouth. a tiny smile she didn't want to admit. She liked him. he grinned. She _liked_ him. Bored and, quite frankly, impatient, Plagg decided to try and speed this up.

"There you see her, sitting there across the way. She has a lot to say, but there's something about her. And you don't know why, but you're dying to try, you wanna kiss the girl," he said.

"Plagg," Adrien hissed.

Ladybug lifted her head. "What?"

"N-nothing!" Chat stammered.

Ladybug gave him a puzzled look, and then carried on explaining how she wanted to divide the city so they could cover the most ground. Plagg waited for Chat to calm down before continuing, softer, so it was like he was thinking it himself.

"Yes, you want her. Look at her, you know you do! It's possible she wants you too, there is one way to ask her…"

Adrien's eyes widened as his stomach filled with butterflies. Her eyes were still shining, even as the light faded so the only one they had to work with was a motion activated one above the door into the building. He glanced over at her and then immediately down at his lap, nervously. He couldn't stop doing that. trying to take in every detail of her face, every curve, every freckle, every crack on her lip… her kissable lips… Adrien tried to think of a way to ask her if she liked him, but the words wouldn't form in his head. When he tried to think of a way to confess his admiration for her, it all got tangled, and whenever he could untangle it, it got caught in his throat. She was still talking, but he couldn't focus on her anymore. Plagg was talking too much too.

"It doesn't take a word, not a single word, just go on and kiss the girl!"

Chat noir licked his chapped lips nervously. He leaned forward slightly, preparing himself to kiss her, when suddenly she raised her head and stared at him like she was waiting for an answer.

"what'd you think?"

Chat's eyes widened. What did he think of what? He hadn't been listening. He'd been too caught up in how beautiful she looked bathed in moonlight. Now she was going to think he was bored in her presence, or too self-absorbed to listen to her. he forced a smile.

"It's brilliant! You're a genius!"

Ladybug smiled, despite herself, "it's just a map you silly kitty… I think if we cut the city in half, having the tower in the centre as the split and the river as another, we have four sectors to watch over. We can cover that between us, right?"

Her glorious blue eyes met his terrified green ones, and she blinked expectantly. God she was gorgeous! She was so pretty, and smart, and kind, and loyal, and amazing, and everything he could ever hope for, and more. She was perfect. Too perfect. Too perfect for him… he shied away slightly.

"sure, you and me, we can do anything," he smiled nervously.

Tikki sighed inside the earrings. She was hoping that here, looking out at the city skyline, under the stars, on a FULL MOON no less, Chat Noir would get up the guts to tell Ladybug he liked her. it'd been months, how long would it take him?! for a moment, just now, Tikki thought he was going to lean in and kiss Ladybug. Now though, it looked like the boy was too shy. he wouldn't kiss the girl. To her that was a shame.

"he gonna miss the girl," she sighed.

Plagg was getting frustrated with Adrien. Chat Noir had leapt off of tall buildings, almost tripped and fallen to his death multiple times, faced down a weather girl who wanted to freeze him, and sacrificed himself to the time turner to save ladybug, but he couldn't get the nerve to kiss her?! what, was his life less important than his heart?!

"See here? I can take this section on Mondays and every other day after that. if we stay in rotation we can cover the whole of Paris individually at least twice every fortnight," Ladybug explained.

She moved closer to Chat Noir to show him the plans. Her arm was pressed gently against his. He could smell her perfume on the breeze. She smelt glorious too. Like freshly baked bread. This wasn't fair. She made his heart fly, and he was too terrified to tell her. chat was staring at her, and she turned her head to meet his eye. He felt his collar heat up when she giggled.

"what's up?" she asked.

That giggle… that giggle melted his insides. She was so close now. he would barely have to move to kiss her. he wanted to. Desperately. But his heart sped up in fear at the mere thought of being rejected.

"Now's your moment," Plagg urged.

"Shut up Plagg," Adrien squeaked.

Plagg urged him on. "Boy you'd better do it soon, no time will be better!"

Adrien growled under his breath. He wanted Plagg to shut up but Plagg was not prepared to do so.

"Don't wait for her to say something! She won't say a word until you kiss the girl!"

"Chat? You ok?"

Ladybug laid a hand on his arm gently in concern. Chat Noir's chest stopped moving. He stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating. Every single part of him was focused completely on internally screaming because she was touching him. she was willingly touching him! sure, she'd grab his hand and drag him along on a mission, but he did that to her to, it meant nothing. here, now, this, this was something. She was touching him because she was worried about him. because she cared about him. she. Cared. About. Him.

"Don't be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl! Don't stop now! Don't try to hide it! Kiss the girl! KISS HER!"

Chat Noir cried out in alarm and leapt to his feet in a panic. "I HAVE TO GO! SORRY, I HAVE AN, ERR - BYE!"

Plagg yelled in protest as Chat Noir swung himself off of the building roof and took off, racing away from here as fast as he possibly could. Ladybug watched him go and tilted her head in confusion.

"What was that all about?"


	7. Chapter 7

A sure-fire way to avoid a cat is to dive into water, so when Kim invited Marinette to his birthday party at his lake house, she leapt at the chance. Although when she and Alya went out shopping for new swimsuits, she couldn't help grinning at the display of ladybug-themed costumes. Alya picked out a red and black spotted bikini and held it up to show Marinette.

"is this totally cute or what?!"

"totally, but lakes are cold Alya, don't you want something more protective? Like this?"

Marinette picked out a black swimming costume with lime green details, and a hole on the back that was shaped like a paw print.

"cute. I'll still stick with the bug, thanks. If you get sunburnt in that, you'll look like that cat claimed you," Alya put one hand on her hip and smirked.

Marinette examined the costume again. it was cute, and the only other choice in her size was ladybug themed. Honestly it felt a little egotistical to buy a ladybug themed swimming costume when she was ladybug herself. and the chat noir costume was cute…

"nah, I'll stick with the cat," she decided.

Alya shrugged, "whatever."

The mini-van that Kim had hired to ship them all out there was set in rows of two except at the back were there was a row of four. Alya raced to the back to claim them, which made Nino laugh. When Alya wanted something, she got it. Marinette sat by the window beside Alya, and Nino sat on her other side. They pushed their bags under their seats, except for Marinette's side bag. She sat that on the small ledge beside the window, so Tikki could enjoy the view if she so wished.

"everybody ready?!" Kim declared.

There was a cheer from everyone on board, which seemed to be the entire class except for Sabrina, Chole and Adrien. Until, that is, Kim spotted someone running this way. Kim beamed and threw the door open.

"Almost didn't make it," Kim beamed.

"sorry, I had to make an excuse to Natalie. I'm going to be in so much trouble when we get back," Adrien explained.

"Aw man you don't have to go through all this trouble," Kim said.

Adrien grinned, "I want to! I've never been to a lake house before. This is going to be awesome!"

"I bet he looks great in a swimsuit," Alya muttered.

"he does," Marinette sighed, dreamily.

Marinette had the summer fashion magazine in her room, and she knew from the pictures how well he looked in a swimsuit, but now Nino and Alya were looking at her suggestively and she turned so red she couldn't explain that without stammering and digging herself in deeper. Nino sniggered, and Alya beamed.

"Girl you're hopeless," she laughed.

Marinette just nodded in agreement. From the crack in the open purse Tikki beamed at her cheekily. Marinette grinned, still blushing hopelessly. It only got worse when Adrien said hello to her and she stammered between hello and hi and ended up saying "high-low." By that point, Nino was already howling with laughter. Adrien laughed like a bell and said to each of them "high-low to you" and each of them said it back.

"off to a great start," Alya beamed as the mini-van pulled off and they finally set off.

Excited and unable to stay sitting still, their friends kept leaning over chairs and peering down the aisle to talk to each other. Every single time they tried talking to one of the four at the back, they beamed "high-low!" before replying. No matter how many times they asked, they never offered an explanation. Marinette's blush lessened each time they said it, until she was just grinning without blushing.

"Hey Marinette!" rose called.

"High-low?" Marinette asked, quietly.

Nino, Alya and Adrien beamed and applauded proudly when she did, which befuddled everyone else, but they joined in anyway. any reason for cheering and being loud was good enough for them. high-low became a running joke for the rest of the trip.

"LOOK! THE LAKE!" Alix cried.

"HIGH-LOW LAKE!" Kim laughed.

The laughter strengthened as every single person on board called "high-low lake" to the huge pool of flat, sky blue water, waiting for them at the bottom of this hill. The students covered the area like a swarm of locus. The girls crowded inside of the lodge to change (except for Alix, who had lost a bet to Kim, and was thrown fully dressed, kicking and screaming, into the lake) while the boys (except Nathanael who was a little self-conscious and hid in the bathroom) changed in the van.

"RACE YOU!" Marinette cried at the top of her lungs as she and Alya appeared.

They left their bags on the tall, dry rocks where they would be safe and protected. Tikki was hidden between the bags and the rocks, but she could see everything. Adrien and Nino raced towards the water's edge. Marinette was already in up to her waist when Adrien stepped into the water. He howled and leapt back. Nino, Alya and Adrien looked up in alarm. Marinette blushed. Adrien was standing stock still, wearing nothing but ladybug swimming trunks, and shivering.

"It's freezing!" he cried.

The others laughed at him, even Rose was in deeper than him, and she was worrying all the way up here about turning blue! Marinette felt a surge of bravery from the ego boost of him wearing her trunks.

"don't be a baby!" She grinned.

To prove she was braver than him, Marinette sank down as far as she could go, and rushed back up with a gasp. She beamed at Alya, who was wearing her contacts for the first time in a long time, and Alya grinned back. Not one to be outdone, Alya dove forwards, and raised her legs up in a hand stand. She brought her legs crashing back down, splattering Marinette and Nino who had just come over to join them. Only Adrien was left in the shallows. He wasn't used to the cold. even when he had to do drummer spreads at the beach they were the warm beaches in the south, or in Miami, and the hotels he stayed in had indoor heated pools. He didn't need to face the cold. not until now. Marinette kept low now, and Alya was up to her shoulders. If they stayed low, they would adjust faster, they assumed. Nino stood hip deep, trying to pretend he wasn't shivering as much as he was. Nathanael swam backstroke past them, and waved at Kim, who was standing on a nearby rock, ready to run and try to grab the rope before falling in.

"Come on, you big baby!" Alya teased.

"It's not that bad once you're in!" Nino insisted.

Adrien gave no signs of movement. He stayed in the shallows, ankle deep, refusing to take another step. what were they all thinking?! It was far too cold to swim in! he was considering returning to the rock where he and Nino had put their things next to the girls, and chilling there with Plagg instead. It would be warmer. And then, he heard a familiar voice, teasing him with the only thing that could will him to move deeper into the water. the only thing that could will him in, said by the only voice he had something to prove things to.

"Scared-y Cat!"

Adrien gritted his teeth determinedly, and marched out into the depths of the lake, refusing to let the touch of glaciers stop him to going up to Alya, Nino and Marinette. Once he was deep enough he took a deep breath, dove under the water, and swam over to them. he bumped into some legs, which made Alya squeal. Adrien burst from the water and beamed at her, from underneath the wet mop of his hair. He had to run his hand through his wet hair to shove it out of his eyes.

"Nice one girl, you got the baby in deep!" Alya beamed.

that made Marinette giggle. Adrien's gaze flicked onto her. she was already going pink from cold. she flushed deeper pink when he smirked at him like that.

"Scared-y cat hey? I'm gonna get you for that," his eyes twinkled, teasingly.

Marinette grinned. She splashed him, so the icy water hit his dry, warm, chest, and he yelped.

"Prove it!" she cried.

Adrien's face changed. His eye flashed with mischievous delight as he advanced on her. she edged backwards nervously. Before he could make a swipe at her to tickle her until she had to duck under water to get away, as was his plan, a tidal wave of water crashed over him and ran down his back making him cry in alarm. Kim had cannon balled into the water to make the biggest splash.

"BIGGEST SPLASH WINS!" He cried.

"I'M NEXT!" Alix declared.

Adrien flopped his fringe out of his face and glanced around for Marinette. She was already swimming away towards the slope up to the rope. Others, namely Juleka and Nathanael, were swimming towards it too. Adrien streamlined to try and get there first. Nino and Alya laughed brightly as their friends acted like fools around them. Marinette got in line and Adrien wriggled in to be behind her. their damp feet left wet, muddy foot prints under the rope. Adrien grinned at her. he was ready to tickle her, and ruin her jump so the splash wouldn't be that big. That's when he noticed her back.

The water ran down her back from her wet hair, which clung to the top of her swimming costume. It ran down to the hole that sat in the centre of her costume. A hole for the main pad, and smaller holes for the claws. A clear paw print, hemmed in by lime green fabric. Chat Noir's paw print. Adrien grinned.

"Are you a Chat Noir fan then? I thought you'd be into ladybug, like Alya," Adrien grinned.

Marinette's cheeks were pink again. the chilly air brought the blood rushing to her face. She grinned at Adrien and gestured to his trunks.

"Like you, you mean?" she teased.

Adrien blushed slightly but grinned, "Ladybug's the best!"

"Yeah, she is, but Chat's awesome too. I don't think people appreciate him enough," Marinette explained.

Adrien couldn't hold back his grin. "I agree."

This was the longest conversation the two of them had had without her stuttering or running away. He gazed around at the panoramic view. Huge hills rounded the skyline, placing them in a bowl. Then great green trees added depth of vision and detail as they knotted tighter together the closer they got to the lake. The lake was fed by a river that ran down the hill like a twinkling ribbon. It met this pool at the far end, far out of view of this huge, sweeping lake. The students made a lot of noise, and a lot of fuss, but really, they were all in the shallows. There was so much of this lake to explore that even the riot they kicked up didn't cause trickles across half of the water surface. From this rock, their view was framed by overhanging trees, but still they could see for miles. It reminded Adrien – and Marinette, even if he didn't know it – of the rooftops in Paris. Only here was far more beautiful.

"COME ON MARINETTE! YOU CAN DO IT GIRL!"

Alya's call of encouragement brought Adrien's attention back to what they were doing. Marinette was heading backwards, into his arms, and he had to leap back so she wouldn't knock into him. she raced forward and leapt from the rock, howling with laughter. Marinette was used to swinging through the air on a string. In fact, this was a thicker support than she was used to. She needed something a bit more thrilling to get the same rush as Kim. Without trying to show off too much, Marinette did a summersault in the air, and went crashing into the ice-cold water, throwing up a tsunami behind her. Adrien gasped in awe. Marinette was awesome!  
once he had the rope in his hand, he leaned over to watch her float back up and push her hair out of her eyes. she beamed at Alya and Nino who cheered at her. even max winked at her to give her an indication of who was winning so far.

"WAY TO GO MARINETTE!" Adrien called.

Marinette looked up at him, and beamed with delight. She looked slightly like a mermaid as she swam back out of the way, so he could jump.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, PAPARAZZI?! JUMP!" Alya yelled.

"YEAH, JUMP!" Marinette laughed.

Adrien grinned. He gave her a two-finger salute, latched onto the rope, and back up, ready to run.

Plagg threw a lump of cheese into the air and caught it in his mouth. Tikki pretended to be disgusted, but couldn't hide that she was mildly impressed. Really, she was just so pleased that she had someone to talk to. It was kind of lonely when you had to constantly hide from people.

"Think he's in love with her yet?" Plagg asked.

Tikki raised her head from her arm to squint and try to see Adrien on the rock. "Maybe. If she keeps showing off her ladybug actions he'll fall for her."

"he already fell for that once, he needs to fall for her as Marinette so he can finally put two and two together," Plagg warned.

"I hate to say it, but I think these two might be slightly stupid. They're literally wearing each other's clothes and they still can't put two and two together," Tikki sighed.

Plagg beamed. It wasn't often when Tikki was upset or annoyed by her charge, but it never lasted and she always told Plagg, because they stood shoulder to shoulder and saw eye to eye.

"Give it time Tikki-Teak. Some people get blinded by romance of situations. If we can make them recreate that feeling on the rooftop here, maybe Adrien will get the nerve to tell her how he feels," Plagg explained.

"so, he was going to kiss her!" Tikki perked up to know she was right. "Well it shouldn't be too hard. Look at this place. it's beautiful!"

Yes, it was cheesy, but Plagg was the king of camembert. He looked straight at Tikki as she gazed at the view and said, seriously, "utterly beautiful."

Nino and Adrien stood shoulder to shoulder as Marinette and Alya were facing each other, eye to eye, ready to throw one another deep under water. Marinette was sat on Nino's shoulders, laughing brightly as she tried to shove Alya off of Adrien's shoulders. Her ultimate goal was to get both of them under, but she'd settle for just getting Alya. Alya reached a little further forward, and made Adrien step forward. He stepped on some mud, which made him slip a little. Marinette gasped in delight. She grabbed Adrien's shoulders, and pushed him back, so he slipped on the mud.

ARGH!

SPLASH!

YEAH! HA-HA!

Nino and Marinette high fived and laughed victoriously. Then, Nino yelped, and Marinette screamed as Adrien and Aly latched hold on one of Nino's legs each, and yanked them. Marinette clung onto Nino's head as both of them plunged down under the water. Under water they struggled to untangle and burst free from the water. Alya and Adrien were howling with laughter, and dripping wet. Adrien beamed at Marinette.

"Told you I'd get you back," he grinned.

She pushed her soaked locked out of her face, and glared at him. or tried to. She couldn't hold back the grin that wormed its way over her mouth. Alya glanced up at the rock.

"The rope is free, are you going to jump yet?" she asked Nino.

Nino glanced up at the rope nervously. There wasn't much he wouldn't do but this, jumping off of a rock, into the lake, he couldn't do that. That was stupid and dangerous. It scared him.

"I don't want to jump. It's dangerous," he said.

"It's not, it's really fun!" Adrien beamed.

Nino shook his head. "I don't want to."

Adrien rested a hand on Nino's shoulder, "d'you wanna jump together? We can jump high in the sky!"

Nino gave him an uncertain look, but Adrien's reassuring smile wore him down. Reluctantly, he nodded. The girls swam alongside them as they headed to then rope, and tread water by the rocks, waiting for them to swing together. Adrien held onto the rope but let Nino hold on tighter. Adrien pulled back the rope, and held a hand on Nino's back so he wouldn't accidentally fall.

"Ready?" He grinned.

"No!" Nino yelped.

Too late! Adrien ran forward, and leapt over the edge of the rock, dragging the rope and Nino with him. Nino screamed as the rope swung out forwards.

"YEAH NINO!"

"YOU GO NINO!"

"JUMP NINO! YOU CAN DO IT!"

Rose knew how much Nino did not like heights. Things like this were usually beyond him. Even as a child he didn't like climbing trees much, and only ever did it when Rose begged him to. Even then he let Rose climb ahead of him, too scared to go higher himself. Now here he was, swinging freely through the air with Adrien by his side. Nino let go first and yelled like Goofy as he flew through the air, crashing into the water. Adrien giggled as he watched Nino leap high in the sky in pride. Adrien had never had a best friend before, so he wasn't entirely sure what it should feel like, but he felt so much more like himself when he was with Nino. They had a strong bond, and it was one he adored. Adrien landed in the lake beside him, and caused a splash that capsized Nino. Alya heaved him back up before Adrien came back up to the surface, so Nino could pretend it wasn't that good, even if he couldn't stop beaming at the adrenaline rush coursing though him.

From the top balcony of the lodge, someone shouted out to Nino. "Hey Nino, I got found decks! Wanna spin something for us?!"

There were cries of encouragement and excitement to try and get Nino to agree. He glanced up at the rope. If he stayed, someone would make him swing again. As much as he enjoyed it the first time, he didn't want to do it again.

"You coming Adrien?" Nino called.

"Nah, I'm gonna swim some more," Adrien said.

"Marinette?!" Alya called.

"I want to jump again!" Marinette said.

"Suit yourselves," Nino shrugged.

"Race you back to shore!" Alya cried.

Within seconds the only two people left in the lake were Adrien and Marinette.

"Ooh," Plagg said, "this is going to be interesting!"

Marinette knelt on a rock and peered into the water. She poked around in the weeds curiously, looking for a frog or something, just to satisfy her curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Tikki asked.

"Looking for frogs," Marinette explained.

"Why?"

"I don't see frogs a lot in Paris. Not living ones anyway."

Tikki blinked a couple of times, just trying to take in what Marinette was saying. She and her crush were together in a lake, alone, and she was looking for frogs. Tikki loved Marinette but she really was oblivious. Plagg was having a similar issue with Adrien, who was floating aimlessly in the water.

"Why do people like cold water?" Adrien asked Plagg. "We have perfectly good heated pools and hot beaches. What's so good about this?!"

The last time Plagg had gone swimming in a lake with his last kitten, it had been back before the first world war, when there were no heated pools. Back then this was the only way they had to cool down in summer.

"That girl likes Chat Noir. You should go and talk to her about it!" Plagg insisted.

Adrien glanced between Plagg and Marinette uncertainly. "You think?"

"Sure. Well you should go talk to her about something, there's only the two of you out here!" Plagg pointed out.

"Right... ok. What should I say?" Adrien asked.

"I don't know! Just talk to her!"

Adrien nodded. Plagg zipped off to hide in the tree behind Marinette so he could keep an eye on Adrien and her. Tikki hurried to hide beside him. Adrien swam up to tread water beside Marinette.

"High-low Marinette," he beamed.

she groaned inwardly but forced a smile, "H-high-low Adrien..."

"What do you like about lakes?" He asked.

Marinette looked up in confusion. "Huh?"

"We have pools that have heating, why did we come all the way out here to swim in a cold lake?"

Marinette had no idea what to say but there was no one around to bail her out so she had to answer, even in a mumble. "Privacy, I guess. And nicer scenery."

Adrien laughed and ran his hand through his soggy hair again. "Well I have to agree there. It's beautiful here."

Marinette glanced over at him. He was glistening in the sunlight with that watery glaze. "Yeah... beautiful."

She bowed her head again urgently, feeling her cheeks heat up again. She poked the weeds with her stick again, trying to pretend she wasn't internally screaming because Adrien was there. He was right there. He was naked except for trucks dedicated to her - not dedicated that sounds weird... But there he was. Glistening wet, and utterly gorgeous, as if he were doing a spread for a beach party. Marinette couldn't look straight at him. He watched the stick in her hand as she moved it around in the reeds.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Looking for frogs," she mumbled.

"Oh. Why?"

"Frogs live in lakes and not rivers so we don't see them in Paris. We like rivers more than lakes."

Adrien tilted her head curiously. "Rivers? What do we like about rivers?"

Marinette shrugged. "What I like most about rivers is

you can't step in the same river twice. The water's always changing, always flowing

and moving on... People, I guess, can't live like that. That's why we build cities around rivers instead."

Instantly Adrien shot back to sitting in his dining room sulking impatiently as Natalie tried to teach him about geography and why people migrated towards rivers. "We build cities around rivers for an easy supply of fresh water. It made it easier to fortify big towns as you didn't have to leave to find water."

Marinette laughed. Of course Adrien knew that. Adrien was perfect. He knew all sorts of useless knowledge.

"They had to be safe," he insisted.

"But to be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing what's around the river bend," She said.

Adrien frowned. He leapt up onto the edge of the lake bank, and held a hand out to Marinette. She reeled back in alarm. He gave her a grin.

"Come on!" He beamed.

Marinette was wide eyed and mildly suspicious. "Where?"

"We're going just around the river bend," he grinned.

That won a smile from her. Hesitantly, she reached out, and took his hand. He helped her climb back into the lake while avoiding the weeds. Every time his skin touched hers as he pulled her into his arms, she blushed deeper. Marinette didn't feel the cold of the lake anymore because she was blushing red hot and horribly embarrassed. Adrien laughed and held her up in the lake.

"You ready?" He grinned.

Marinette nodded, self-consciously. Adrien chuckled and beckoned her on. She waited for him to go first because she couldn't bear to accidentally touch him again. Already she looked like a lobster, she didn't need him to touch her to make her blush again.  
They swam like mermaids together down to the bend in the lake. Beneath them they could feel the ground getting further away. Falling into a deeper abyss. Marinette felt uncomfortable this far out. She didn't want to get tired and have no way back. Then she'd have to get Tikki for help, and she didn't see any way to do so without Adrien finding out she was ladybug.

"Wow! It is beautiful here!"

Marinette raised her head up and gasped. Round here the sky was a little closer to the ground. The sun was sinking below the dense green of treetops. Gulls flew freely through the air, giving care free cries. They could hear, just beyond the trees behind them, the sound of distant drumming from Nino. Even just around the river bend it was quieter. More private. Just the two of them, floating in the blue lagoon. Hidden here, both were unaware of how far they were from the lodge.

"Hey, your lips are turning blue," Marinette warned.

Adrien gasped. His fingers raised to tap his lips anxiously. "What does that mean?!" There was a hint of panic in his tone.

"It means you're cold, haven't they ever gone blue before?" Marinette smirked.

Adrien shook his head, wide eyed, and worried. Marinette could hold back her smile. She knew a sure-fire way to warm him up was to wrap her arms around him. To run her fingers though his damp hair, and pull him closer. To warm his lips by pressing them against hers. By kissing the cold away. But if she blushed when he touched her there was no way she would be able to kiss him, no matter how desperately she wanted to.

"Let's get onto the bank and walk back. You need to dry off before you can warm up," Marinette explained.

Adrien groaned. "My father will kill me if my lips are still blue tomorrow!"

His father was going to kill him anyway. he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Don't worry, your lips are fine. I mean they will be fine! I mean you are fine! You look fine! I mean-"

She blushed again, and Adrien chuckled. Marinette was cute when she was flustered. From what he could tell she flustered easily. Adrien heaved himself out of the lake, and held out a hand to help her up. She took it, and mumbled a thank you. Adrien beamed again. Marinette was cute flustered, but even cuter since she was in a Chat Noir costume. Looking at her now, dripping wet and shivering, he felt the need to put his arm around her to warm her up. He hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She was cold at first, but quickly burned up, embarrassed.  
Marinette walked very stiffly for as long as he had his arm around her, and said next to nothing. Her entire focus was on him. How warm he was. How good he smelt. How kind he was to worry about her. How sweet he looked. How much of a fool she would make out of herself if she kissed him now. How much she wanted to.

"I think I know what you mean about rivers. If we walked from down this river we could end up in Paris. The rivers connect us all. That's why we like them, right?"

Marinette realised he was expecting an answer. She forced a smile, even though she was too nervous to actually look straight at him. He grinned back at her. Adrien was growing fond of the quiet, flustered girl.

"I err..." she stammered.

He waited to hear what she had to say but she had no idea what to actually say.

"You swim well where learn did you?" She stammered.

Adrien gave her a puzzled look, but smiled anyway. She face-palmed internally. This was the biggest moment of her life and she was blowing it. Adrien spotted a rock on the ground and let go of her to pick it up. He grinned, and skimmed the rock across the lake. When he turned to grin at Marinette, she didn't look as impressed as he expected.

"My gorilla taught me that," he explained.

Marinette nodded. She bent down and picked up a smoother rock. When she skimmed it, it bounced further than his before plopping into the water. He gasped. She smirked.

"My father taught me that," she countered, her eyes twinkling.

Adrien consoled the envious flicker in his chest by insisting that Marinette's father was just a baker. He didn't have to worry about a multimillionaire making company. He had one bakery. He had time to spend with her. Gabriel was far too busy for that. Marinette threw another rock, and it went further than the last one.

Adrien groaned but grinned, "Why are you so much better than me?"

Marinette shook her head, "No one is better than you. I mean - I you can be um, I - err, you, um?"

Adrien smirked affectionately. He picked up a rock and pressed it into her hand.

"Will you show me how to skim like you?" He asked hopefully.

Marinette nodded. She talked Adrien through it, so he had a general idea how to do it. Plagg whispered a reminder that he was supposed to be connecting with Marinette. He tried to keep Marinette talking but she was done in. She was staying quiet until she was certain she shouldn't embarrass herself. Adrien decided the only way to make her talk was to keep messing up. He twisted his wrist too early so the rock either didn't skip, or fell to the ground. Even when she started giving advice it still plopped into the water. He smirked when she finally snapped and leapt to her feet. She took his hand in hers, and guided his arm gently, so the stone skipped merrily across the surface. Adrien beamed and laughed at her satisfied look which made her blush but grin. He was teasing her, and she'd fallen for it. Hook line and sinker.

"Your lips are less blue now, but we should head in anyway. Alya will be wondering where we are," Marinette tried to explain without stammering and almost managed.

Adrien threw one last stone and looked up into the sky. Colour was fading into black and now the sky was pearl pale. He'd have to be heading home soon. Back to Paris to face his father. It was not something he was looking forward to, but it was something that had to be done.

"Come on then."

He held out his arm for her to link hers through, like Chole insisted on when they were little. Marinette shied back. Adrien lowered his arm sheepishly. He kept forgetting that Chole was not like most girls.

As Marinette had predicted, Alya was ecstatic to see her. She threw her arms around her and pulled her in tight.

"I was so worried about you!" She cried, "you both vanished and no one knew what happened!"

"We're okay Alya, I promise," Marinette insisted.

Alya's worried expression twisted into mock disappointment. "Shame. Ladybug would have defiantly come to look for a little girl lost in the woods! You may have cost me an exclusive interview."

Marinette laughed and shook her head affectionately. Adrien watched them in fascination. They worked so well together. There was a real kind of love there. Marinette was so lucky to have friends that loved her this much as well as family that did too. Adrien felt a chill down his spine, underneath his towel. He shivered again. it could have been envy, but he decided it was probably just cold. Now the light had gone, he was colder than ever. The only spot of warmth was where his kwami was hiding between his shoulder blades.

"No secrets girl, what happened between you and Adrien out there?! Tell me everything!" Alya insisted in a hushed tone.

Marinette blushed again. "Make sure Adrien warms up. His lips were blue outside. we don't want him to get sick."

Adrien's warm smile curled up without permission. She was sweet to worry about him when she was just as likely to get sick. He was probably less likely, because his special superhero skills out protect him. Probably. He hoped they would.

Nino appeared from nowhere and hooked a playful arm around his neck. "Where are we sleeping Adrien? Kim's got real duvets in his room, but Nathanael has sweets."

"A difficult choice, I see why you called in the cavalry," Alya teased, "Either way we won't be sleeping until we're in the van heading home."

"Don't worry about me, my Gorilla is going to come pick me up in a minute to take me home," Adrien explained.

"But it's a sleep over!" Marinette whined.

"Not for me. I have extra fencing in the morning to catch up with what I've missed today," Adrien explained.

"We'll miss you Adrien," Nino said, solemnly.

"Thanks," Adrien said.

"Be safe!" Alya warned, "Text us when you get home so we don't worry."

Adrien smiled softly. At least his friends cared. "I promise."

"Bye!" Marinette waved.

Plagg peered out of Adrien's towel. He glanced down at Marinette's side. Tikki peered out of the bag. Plagg waved, and whispered too low to be heard. "Bye Tikki-Teak."

Tikki didn't hear him, but she waved back and whispered all the same "See you soon Plagg."

Plagg dove into Adrien's jacket pocket when he pulled it on, to pretend he was fully dressed and mostly dry. Then Adrien headed to where Kim was standing with a pile of duvets in his arms.

"Thanks for inviting me Kim, it was awesome," Adrien grinned.

"Thanks for coming man, it was great having you," Kim beamed.

Alya, Nino and Marinette waved from the balcony as Adrien wandered down the path to meet the car. Or so he claimed. Once he was well out of view, he let Plagg out of his pocket.

"I wish we were staying longer!" Plagg whined. He already missed Tikki, but he wasn't about to let Adrien know that. "There were things there I wanted to eat!"

"We've missed enough for father to be angry. We have to get home soon," Adrien sighed.

"I know, I know, but it's a shame," Plagg said.

"You can eat at home! Let's get there soon. Plagg, claws out!"


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien rose from a dream about Ladybug seeing spots. Everywhere looked there were lots of those tiny little dots. True his bedroom was _full_ of Ladybug merch, her bed covers, her pots, her loo roll - that was his favourite merch because it made him laugh when he brought it. He had posters of her hanging on the wall, trying to figure out who she was, and he had left his ladybug boxers in the hall for the maid, who would fill his drawers with ladybug drawers! That thought made him chuckle. Every morning that he woke up he never saw the skies because instead he was greeted by a lot of little spots! His warm and happy mood died the moment he saw Natalie's serious expression as she waited for him in the dining room.

"Adrien, your father would like to see you."

"Do I have to?" Adrien groaned.

"It would be wise if you did," she nodded.

Hero or not Adrien still feared his father. He knew his father respected Chat Noir, however begrudgingly, but he didn't offer Adrien the same respect. There were no consequences for Chat Noir. Gabriel could destroy Adrien's life, or - worse - make it what it used to be. He couldn't bear to go back to only having chole in his phone contacts. Adrien took a deep breath, fell into perfect posture, and pushed the office door open. Gabriel sat, emotionlessly, behind his desk like a boss about to fire one of his employees. It sent a chill down Adrien's spine.

"Father," he tried not to let his voice shake, but it was difficult.

His father's eyes flicked up from his paperwork momentarily. He said nothing, and continued writing while Adrien waited. Adrien shifted awkwardly. He didn't like feeling like he was going to be scolded. His father raised his head calmly, and placed his fountain pen down, neatly on the desk. His sky-blue eyes met Adrien's acid greens. Adrien held his gaze for a moment, but he had to break away first. His father was too strong to stare down.  
Ladybug could do it.  
Chat Noir already had.  
Adrien wished he could be Chat now, and face his father as the beloved hero. To have the support and admiration of the Parisians to back him up.

"Adrien. Have you any idea how worried we were?"

Adrien bowed his head with no idea what he was supposed to say. He just had to look ashamed of himself.

"I had half of Paris out looking for you before the couple at the bakery suggested you were at this... lake house. I was this close to calling Ladybug to come and help track you down."

Adrien set his face like stone to stop himself smirking. Ladybug could find him in a heartbeat. She had a tracking device on him. It was a shame they didn't work until they were in costume. He could have found his lady's true identity by now.

"You had no permission to go. You had no bodyguards. Anything could have happened! You could have drowned, or been attacked by leeches, and that would /ruin this month's spread!"

Adrien was still stone faced, which was good, because he was hurt by his father's priorities. He didn't want his father to see how hurt he really was.

"And you've missed lessons. Piano and fencing. When you came home - late - you didn't have anyone with you. You had nothing to stop someone kidnapping you! Then what would I have done?!"

Adrien stayed silent still. If he had pointed out that he wasn't exactly defenceless since he was learning karate, and fencing, AND HE WAS CHAT NOIR, but his father would have ignored that, or it would have made things worse.

"One more step out of line, Adrien, and I will have to punish you. Severally. This cannot be allowed to happen again. Is that understood?"

"Yes father," Adrien muttered.

Gabriel hummed drily. He lifted his fountain pen and move his paper into position.

"That's all."

Adrien was sent away like a warned employee. There was no sense of warmth or affection from Gabriel. There was no sense that Adrien was anything more to him that a conveniently placed model. Adrien gazed out of the window, overlooking the city like a guardian angel. He spotted the minivan that he knew to be full of his friends.

"I bet they're having way more fun than me," Adrien sighed to Plagg.

By the time they had to get into the van, three people had managed to get some sleep. Even then it was barely three hours rest before they were woken up and told to pack. Then they all stuffed themselves back into the minivan, full of sweets and exhausted from swimming and dancing and not sleeping. Now they were crowded into a van that rocked on the bumpy road like a cot. When a packet of M&Ms got spilt across the floor, no one was awake enough to care. They scattered everywhere like a rainbow confectionary bomb had gone off.  
Two by two they had something soft and warm to lean against. The gentle melody from the radio filled the van. It was a total opposite to the dance music Nino had been spinning all night. It was like a lullaby in the cot.  
Alya leaned against Nino and Nino leaned against Alya. Marinette leaned against the wall, and Tikki curled up in her lap. Kim curled into a ball on his chair. Max leaned back in his chair, while Alix hooked her legs over the chair, over Max, and pulled her hat over her eyes. Rose was leaning against Juleka, Juleka leaned against the window. Nathanael leaned his cheek on his fist which was leant on his armrest. Within half an hour all of them were completely asleep. The only sound over the engine were dozing children, and a soft playful melody.

None of them stirred, even as they entered Paris. Most of them had to be shaken awake when their parents came to collect them. None of their parents bothered to ask if they had a good time, because that much was blatantly obviously.

It was the last day of peace Marinette would have for a long time.

Two days passed before another akuma struck. They were becoming less frequent, but more intense. A worrying trend. Even so Ladybug and Chat went out to fight. As sure as Chat did his best to flirt with Ladybug, Alya would be there to film it all for her blog. This clearly worried Ladybug, because she constantly brought up how much she worried about Alya getting hurt. Which is partly why Chat Noir kept an urgent eye on her between fighting. She stayed hidden behind a car.

"What can Hawkmoth offer that we can't?!" Ladybug cried.

"the moon for your miraculous. How could I pass up that deal?!"

"You can't have the moon! If the moon didn't hit your eye how would you know its amore?!" Chat cried.

"Not to mention eternal daytime!" Ladybug huffed.

Chat gasped in horror, "no more sleep?! You monster!"

"You want sleep? Fine! Take a cat nap!" The akuma cried.

He grabbed Chat by his waist and threw him through the air to crash into the ground miles away. And he would have if Ladybug hadn't caught him on her yo-yo to pull him back down safe. For a moment, Chat just floated in the air like a kite. A kitty kite. He landed by her side without a scratch.

"Thanks," he grinned.

"I know how much cats like playing with string," Ladybug winked.

Chat beamed. He glanced back at the car, some distance away now, where Alya was hiding. She was beaming too.

"YOU GO LADYBUG!" She yelled.

Chat Noir refused to be jealous of Ladybug, since they were in the same boat, but sometimes it hurt that people didn't appreciate him like Marinette did. That made her a little more important to him in that moment.

"No one will stop me capturing the moon!"

"I've heard about shooting for the moon but this is ridiculous," Ladybug groaned.

"The akuma has to be in his badge," Chat declared.

"Why?" Ladybug asked.

"It's a telescope, isn't that enough?" Chat asked.

Alya screamed which made both of them snap upright into action. The akuma was striding towards her, reaching out to grab her.

"I got this."

Chat Noir threw himself across the ground. He scooped Alya up urgently and raced across the compound to get her to safety. When he set her down, she raised her phone before she realised it wasn't Ladybug who saved her. She gave him a disappointed look.

"I thought ladybug was going to save me!" She complained.

"Ladybug and I are on the same team. We're the Rescue Aid Society," Chat Noir insisted.

"What team is that?" She smirked.

"Well I voted for the wildcats, but we settled on rescue aid society," chat chuckled.

Alya made a note on her arm with a pen. "Rescue aid society- err, how do you spell that?"

"R-E-S-C-U-E."

"Society."

"Oh, S-O-C-I-E-T-Y."

Alya tilted her head at the writing on her arm. "You're not really calling your team -"

"Rescue Aid Society. We hold our heads high and touch the skies. If you're in a fix or in a bind you can call on us anytime and we'll appear from nowhere to help you!" Chat beamed.

Alya continued to look unimpressed. "Ras? You're one letter away from rash!"

Chat Noir's face fell awkwardly. "Ah..." he grinned. "Wildcats it is then!"

"I NEED A PAW KITTY!" Ladybug yelled.

"COMING MY LADY!" Chat yelled back.

Alya watched him dash off to a daring rescue, and deleted the video she had taken of him. Chat Noir was useless when it came to getting close to Ladybug.  
When Chat caught the akuma he smashed it against his hand, and Ladybug leapt forward to catch it in her yo-yo. Once her lucky charm filled the air with light the victim was cured again.

"I wanted to show her I love her," he said miserably.

"Well this isn't how you do it," ladybug said, kindly.

"How then?" He asked.

Chat Noir stepped forward. He listened keenly, ready to take notes so he could take the advice of the girl he wanted more than anything else in the world, on how to make her love him too.

"When you have a natural attraction, you need - no, you /deserve a mutual reaction. When you feel that natural affection leading you in the right direction, you gotta stop showing off!"

"Showing off? I wasn't! Well... I didn't mean to," the boy muttered sheepishly.

Chat's gaze flicked back onto Marinette, waiting for her to finish explaining herself.

"Try just showing her the natural you. Appreciate her for who she is and show her who you are. Then you're gonna be appreciated right back."

The boy smiled at her warmly. "Thanks ladybug."

Her miraculous beeped. She gasped. "I've gotta dash. Good luck, you'll be great."

Chat grabbed her arm and pointed to an underground fortune teller shop across the road.

"Ladybug, this way, that's the only place that's open this early!"

With nothing else open, both heroes dashed across the street down to the fortune tellers shop and leapt through the door. The golden bell above the door twinkled as they opened it.

A short, plump old woman stood behind the counter and looked up when they walked in. "Who goes there?!"

"Sorry madam, have you got a bathroom? Or a cupboard?!" Ladybug asked urgently.

"One bathroom," she pointed to the bathroom. Ladybug shoved Chat Noir into it, since he was going to change back first. The lady folded her arms. "Are you going to pee in my cupboard?"

"No, I'm sorry, I'm ladybug, and I'm about to change-"

The flash that filled the shop floor made Marinette deeply relieved that there were several heavy fabric drapes hiding the windows. She stared at the old woman in horror. All the colour drained from her face. The old woman gave no reaction.

"I guess you changed back huh?"

"I err..."

"Now don't you worry about me, I'm just a poor old blind fortune teller. I don't know who you are," the woman chuckled.

Marinette heaved a sigh of relief deeper than she had ever sighed before. The woman still had no idea who she was. Adrien's phone beeped. He had to be at fencing - FIVE MINUTES AGO! He knocked on the bathroom door anxiously.

"Sorry to interrupt but I have to leave!"

"Do you have somewhere I can hide?" Marinette asked urgently.

The blind old lady gestured to a cupboard hidden by a curtain. Marinette hadn't noticed it before. She ducked inside and hid in the storage unit on the other side. The strong smell of candles reminded her that Tikki needed feeding. She fished a cookie out of her bag and handed it to her. Tikki munched the cookie gratefully. Through the door Marinette heard Chat Noir talking to the old fortune teller.

"Listen to me, it doesn't matter what you look like. It doesn't matter what you wear. How many rings you got on your finger, no one cares. I don't care where you're from or who you are. I'm telling you what you need to do," the fortune teller warned.

Chat Noir frowned, "but what do you mean by dig a little deeper?!"

"It really ain't that far. When you find out who you are you'll find out what you need," the woman huffed.

"But dig for what?!" He insisted.

There was a muffled part as they lowered their voices. Marinette moved towards the door to hear better but she missed some important details.

"So you're a rich little boy and you wanna be rich in the future?"

"Um, sure?"

"That ain't gonna make you happy, does it make you happy now? No! Money ain't got no soul, money ain't got no heart! You got to dig a little deeper. I can't tell you what you'll find, maybe love will grant you peace of mind. Dig a little deeper and you'll know."

Again, there was a long lingering pause. For a moment Marinette though chat had left. Then she heard his voice again. It was soft. Quiet. Too muffled to understand properly. She caught bits here and there, but not enough to understand what he meant.

"I think I already know what you want me to find inside myself..."

"Do you?"

"You think I should face my father and tell him I don't want to be a model anymore. That I want a family more like Marinette's. Right?"

The woman gave a tired old smile that vaguely resembled a carved Halloween pumpkin on the third of November. "Dear boy I don't know. If you dig inside yourself and this is what you come up with, then yes. You're right."

Personally, she thought the boy was better off opening his eyes and realising the reason his mind went back to Marinette was because he was in love with her, but that was none of her business. If he kept digging, he'd figure that out for himself. Adrien thanked her, and left. He ran down the street as fast as his legs could carry him.  
The scents of the candles were harsh and never fading to the extent that they were beginning to overpower Marinette. The dizziness overtaking her stole her focus from the conversation outside. When the old woman knocked on the door, Marinette gasped.

"Miss buggy?" The woman asked.

Tikki giggled at the name.

"Yes?" Marinette asked.

"Might I have a word?" The woman asked.

"Is the cat gone?" Marinette asked.

"Yes," the woman said.

Marinette pushed the door gently. It creaked open as she did. On the other side, the smell of burning incense stung her nostrils instead. For a woman who had lost one of her senses she sure liked to abuse her sense of smell.

"Take a seat," she offered.

Obediently, Marinette sat down at the table covered in a deep purple silk cloth with golden stars stamped on it. The woman took her hand for a moment and hummed thoughtfully. Her wrinkled curved across Marinette's soft young hand. She knew that there were callouses that made her good with a pen, and tiny bumps from pin pricks that suggested sewing, but the vague smell of baking made her a cook. She wasn't hard to figure out. Tikki peered over Marinette's shoulder to watch with interest.

"Um... what is it?" Marinette stammered.

"Your daddy is a loving man, family through and through. You're your daddy's daughter. What he had in him, you got in you," the woman explained.

"I hope so," Marinette muttered.

Tikki gave her a cheery nod of encouragement to ensure her it already was because she had seen it.

The woman let go of Marinette's hand and folded her own. "You got to dig a little deeper, dig down deep inside yourself, and you'll find out what you need."

Marinette glanced at Tikki. She didn't have to pause for thought. "I know what I need."

The fortune teller's smile changed slightly, warming at his news. "Oh do you?"

"I'm in love with someone who doesn't look at me twice. I need to find a way to take the confidence I have as ladybug and bring it into my life as me," Marinette nodded.

She had thought about that a lot recently. The trouble was that she had no idea how to do so without the mask. Ladybug was confident because she was anonymous. There were no repercussions for her. For Marinette, facing Adrien... those repercussions could kill her.

Adrien raced into the changing rooms at fencing, and ran back out, hastily dressed and red in the face from running all the way here. He glanced around the room, and met Natalie's eye as she stood in the shadows, watching. Adrien cracked a hopeful smile at her, desperately hoping she would think he had always been there. Much to his horror, Natalie shook her head. It was slow, and tiny. Blink and you miss it. A slow, unnoticed head shake, that sealed Adrien's fate.

His father was on his way.

 _shit_.

Adrien paced back and forth in the locker room, anxiously trying to think up a feasible excuse for what he had been though and why he hadn't made it back on time.

"I don't understand," Plagg said from Adrien's bag, "You told that blind future-seeing lady you'd stand up to your father. Did you lie to the blind future-seeing lady?"

"Plagg I told her I'd try!" Adrien whined.

"then try," Plagg shrugged.

Adrien felt an anxious knot in his chest. "It won't end well."

"you're not a child now. you can take care of yourself. You mustn't let yourself down now!"

Adrien frowned and stared down at the ground. "I've seen him make the body guards cry."

Plagg batted the air carelessly, "oh you'll be fine!"

Adrien side-eyed Plagg uncertainly. Plagg was rather apathetic about a lot of things, but he never deliberately steered Adrien wrong. And having someone so calm in every emergency eased Adrien a lot too.

Adrien took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "I'll be fine."

Adrien was not fine. Gabriel knew how to make sure Adrien came into his office, unconsciously mirroring the perfect image Gabriel had of him hanging on the wall. The first thing to do was make him sweat. Gabriel left Adrien in his bedroom, alone, waiting to be called down to the office. It worked. It always did. Adrien got nervous while waiting, and started brushing his hair and smoothing his clothes anxiously. The clothes, he understood. Everyone fussed over him during photoshoots – they always had – but it was always his father who would smooth his shoulders when he was little. Back when he attended the shoots, that is. Back when he'd smooth Adrien's shirt, pat his head, and sometimes – if he was in the right mood – he'd smile at him too. Some part of him, deep down, thought that if he kept his clothes smooth, his father would smile again.

The hair, however, he couldn't understand. Whenever he got anxious – which was more and more lately – he'd find a brush, and just start tearing out knots until his hair was silky smooth. Then he'd mess it up, and re-style it, brushing it again and again, until he was distracted by how he looked, and didn't focus on the nerves. Adrien had accepted that as some quirk he'd picked up from modelling. He never remembered where it really came from.

as a toddler, Adrien had the messiest mop of blonde hair you've ever seen in your life. If he wasn't about to be put out on a photoshoot, no one could get a brush through it. it was only when cameras appeared that his father insisted his hair be brushed, and even then, he'd squirm to get away. That was when the nerves would start… that was when his mother would scoop him up, into her arms, and cradle him against her. screaming or not screaming, crying or not, she would hold him close, until he calmed down enough that he would sit on her lap. And she would talk to him. gently. Warmly. Kindly. The way a mother should talk to their son. Adrien would talk back, and explain his side of the story, how he didn't want to be there, because he was afraid. His mother would chuckle. Adrien could barely remember how it sounded now. she was so gentle with him, he would never notice when she started brushing his hair. She would just run the brush through carefully, until it looked neat and glossy, like his father wanted. Then she would tell Adrien that it was the secret powers within him that made his hair like that. he'd laugh, and he wouldn't be nervous anymore, because his hair looked fluffy and messy, but a neat kind of mess.

Kinda like how Chat Noir's looked these days.

"just stay calm, think about what you're going to say, and say it. even if he tries to stop you, keep talking, until you're done," Plagg said.

"I'm not sure about this Plagg," Adrien mumbled.

"Hey, what's the worst that could happen?"

Plagg's smile was supposed to be reassuring, but there was a threat in it. a challenge for his father to rise to. His father didn't often like challenges, but he always, _always,_ bested them. that's how he came to be a world-renowned designer, after all.

Gabriel beckoned Adrien over to the window when he entered the office. Hesitantly, Adrien approached. He felt his hands numb nervously, and butterflies flutter across his stomach. His father didn't move away from where he gazed out of the window. He looked out across Paris as if he owned it. to some extent, he did. He could afford to buy everything they were looking at, and he had influence with the mayor as a close personal friend. Sometimes Adrien forgot about that. he spent so long with only Chole to call "friend" (and to be honest, they were only really friendly because everyone else they knew were far, far older than them) that he forgot his father had them. but he never forgot that his reach was everywhere.

"You disappointed me Adrien," Gabriel stated.

Adrien felt a shot to the heart. A terrible, spear-like icicle, impaled his chest. His father didn't even blink. He held his head high, and continued, without glancing at his son. His tone stayed stable. Unchanging. Cold. hard. Constant.

"You're fortunate that I was generous enough to allow you to go to school, despite my best wishes, but you've continuously disobeyed me since I allowed it."

Adrien felt Plagg against his chest. He was a hot ball purring softly. Vibrating courage right into Adrien's heart. Even so, Adrien stared down at his feet and balled his fists tightly when he began talking.

"Father I go to all of the lessons I can, I'm punctual all the time that I can be, but the workload is simply too much-"

"and who's fault is that? when you had lessons here, you had regulation. You had a ridged schedule, that was followed without fail."

"I remember," Adrien said, darkly.

He remembered the schedule. Breathing at the wrong time was enough to be scolded for. It was a punishment he had grown up in, and he refused to go back to it now. Adrien gritted his teeth in determination. He would not be leaving school.

"allowing you to attend that school is proving to be one of my biggest mistakes Adrien. You would never have run off to some lake in the middle of nowhere with strangers before you started going there-"

Adrien scowled. He felt a hot flush of anger. "They're not strangers, they're my friends! And I wouldn't have gone to the lake with them before I started school because I didn't have any friends then!"

"Friends are a distraction. They are disrupting how our lives are run, and they are a bad influence on you," Gabriel answered sharply.

"my friends are a good influence on me. They stand with me, and they support me, and they like me! they _care_ about me!" Adrien cried.

He felt a bottle in his chest. One he had stuffed full of emotions he didn't want to face. He felt it clink against his ribs like an alcoholic desperate for more to fill him. Adrien refused to bottle this up too. It shook him up. it clinked on his bones. It rattled inside him, ready to burst.

"They don't care about you, that's demented. that's what family is for Adrien," his father stated.

"I wouldn't know, now that mum's gone I don't seem to have a family anymore."

You know when you say something that you've felt for a long time, but never said, because saying it would be like throwing a comet against a pane of glass, and there's a horrible silence in those two seconds between saying it, and realising you said it, where the whole worlds just kinda stops? Cracks were already jetting out from the glass they found themselves standing on. Adrien felt himself free falling through the air. his father stiffened. He held himself rigid, his fists clenched, his jaw hard. Gabriel scowled furiously. His voice tensed. If it was possible, it got colder.

"This is why you never should have left. This just proves you're too naive to be here. I'm pulling you from that school."

"NO!"

That was impossible! Everything he had, everything he wanted, everything was at that school. Even chole was there. Adrien hadn't considered chole as someone he'd want to spend time with, but right now, the prospect of never seeing her again was enough to cause Adrien's heart to stop. He couldn't dare to imagine never seeing Marinette or Alya or – OR NINO! What would he do if he never saw NINO again?! he didn't want to find out. Adrien had never verbally defied his father before. It caused Gabriel to turn his head, and side-eye him, furiously.

"No? Oh. I see how it is. You think you know best. That you're so mature now, such a clever grown up gent. Fine, if you're so sure, go and put them to the test."

Adrien winced as his father spat the words. He was horrified at how quickly everything had changed. At how quickly he had broken something so fragile so terribly. Everything in him was desperate to fix it.

"Father, I-"

His father's voice was cold enough that Alaska itself would have shivered if it had been directed at it. "I want you out of my sight. If you think your friends care about you more than me, then prove it. you will not be spending the night here, you can sleep on the street for all I care."

"Father-"

"If they're lying, don't come crying back to me. I'm only your family, clearly that means nothing to you."

Adrien had no words. He had no breath. The last thing that he could think to say struggled to escape his throat. It was strangled by the ball that had formed there instead.

"father…"

"Go."

That last word hit Adrien like a plank of wood. Blunt and heavy. Adrien's chest rose and fell desperately as he struggled to find his breath. His father had never threatened to send him out of the house before, he'd never even let him out of the house alone before, and now he was being kicked out… Adrien couldn't wrap his head around it, but he knew he couldn't fight it. there was something fragile in their relationship, and somehow on little sentence, had cataclisymed it.

Adrien's gaze turned to the portrait of his mother hanging on the wall. Her shining eyes held an entire forest in each of them. wild and free and beautiful. Like a glorious peacock. If she were here she would fight for him. she would defend him.

But she wasn't.

She was gone.

He was alone.

Nathalie and the gorilla stood before Gabriel. he never showed any sign of emotion except displeasure. Right now, that displeasure was anger. Anger, and hurt, and fear. Gabriel loved Adrien. Of course he did. Adrien was his whole world. but he had forgotten how to show that, and now his son had left, just as his mother had, and he was alone…

"Keep an eye on him, from a distance," Gabriel stated, sharply, "Do not let him get hurt or I will have both of your jobs before you get back to this office."

When your boss is this angry, this hurt, this afraid, there was nothing to say. Nothing to argue. You just obeyed without blinking. Natalie and the gorilla didn't say a word, not even a goodbye, before heading to the car to follow the boy who had left three minutes ago. He had nowhere to go, and it was already late. They were sure he couldn't have gone far.

To be fair to them, he hadn't. he had leapt up onto a nearby roof, to sob out this horror in his chest. This deep cavern in his heart that had been a sinkhole for months had finally collapsed. He was alone. His father was furious. He had nothing by a rucksack with some clothes in, his phone and Plagg. Well that, and a giant bottle of emotions that was finally shattering in his chest, causing him to sob manically, huge, heaving, ugly tears, turning his green eyes red raw. By the time he managed to calm himself he was exhausted, and the moon was high, and he still had nowhere to spend the night. Chat Noir whimpered.

He was all alone in the world again.


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette's room was odd. It was small and cramped, and the bed was high up to the ceiling, and yet, it was comfortable. It was so much smaller than Adrien's own room, in fact he could fit this room in his at least twice, easily, but this smaller room was cosier. Homelier. The window was open, and so was the door. Adrien didn't realise anyone would keep them open after dark. Gabriel didn't. After dark the house was in lock down with the security system firmly in place. To him, this was totally strange.

Marinette was in her room when he dropped in. her bed broke his landing, so she didn't hear him. not that she would have anyway. she was in her own little world. Marinette was sitting in her pyjamas with her hair loose around her shoulders, focusing on the shading of her drawing. Her focus was so deeply invested in what she was doing, the tip of her tongue was poking out from between her lips. Adrien watched her for a moment. The soft music swilling around her, the breeze from the window turning up the corners of her page, her hair brushing her shoulder like a shawl. This room, this haven, it was the complete opposite of the riot he had left behind him.

"Good evening princess," he purred.

Marinette gasped in surprise when she looked up to see him peering down at her. a trace of a smile appeared as the shock faded.

"Chat, high-low!" she beamed.

Chat smiled. "I'm sorry?"

Marinette wrinkled her nose. She shouldn't expect him to understand jokes from her class. It made her look more foolish than it made him look.

"Um, hi?" she offered, instead.

Chat still held his smile. "High-low to you too."

She didn't seem so awkward around Chat, which was strange. She was the only person he'd ever met that liked Chat Noir more than Ladybug, but she didn't stammer around him. He was so ready for this change.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

It was too early for the truth. They had to keep it light hearted first.

"I could hear your music, and there was a light on, and I thought for the first time in forever, maybe I won't be alone on patrol," he shrugged.

"Alone? Doesn't ladybug do patrol too?"

"She takes a different part of the city."

Marinette was deeply relieved she'd finished patrol before he'd turned up. She had to figure out if he had followed ladybug or if it was a coincidence he was here.

"Haven't you seen her tonight?" she asked, trying to hide her suspicion from her voice.

"Ah she'll be way over by Disneyland by now," Chat shrugged.

"I've never been to Disneyland," Marinette muttered.

Chat sat up, suddenly far more alert than he had been since he entered the room. "You've NEVER been to Disneyland?! What kind of childhood was yours?!"

"I lived and worked in a bakery, drew pictures with Nathanael, played video games, and pretended to be a princess. We couldn't afford Disneyland," she shrugged.

"Well I'll take you any time you like. They let me in free," He smirked.

"I'm sure they do. it's hard to find someone who wants to dress as an aristo-cat all day, and they don't have to pay you," she teased straight back.

Chat Noir grinned. He hadn't seen this side of her before. Confident. Cheeky. Teasing him right back. She didn't treat Adrien like that. But Chat Noir was just as famous as Adrien, why didn't she treat him like this? As much as he found the flustered Marinette adorable, this Marinette, she was intoxicating.

"Wait, you worked in a bakery as a child?" Chat said, suddenly.

Marinette grinned at the memory. "I was chief taste tester."

"I've tried your cakes. They're amazing," the smile came with the memory.

Marinette beamed with pride. "I was good at my job."

Marinette was calm and relaxed. She was also warm and kind. Nino hadn't picked up the phone when he called, and when he dropped by the lights were all out. Adrien had to ease the conversation towards whether he could spend the night or not.

"I can't wait to meet everyone. Your parents, I mean. To thank them," he said.

She gave him a funny look. "What?"

"I've met someone... Imagine them fetchingly draped with sophisticated grace. A beautiful stranger, tall and fair-"

Tikki had to stuff chocolate in her face to stop herself squealing with laughter. Marinette was less than impressed.

"Let me stop you there, who is this person?"

Chat Noir's ears dropped, disappointed she wouldn't let him finish. "Adrien Agreste."

Tikki almost choked on her chocolate, and Marinette looked like she had been hit by lightning.

"Adrien?!"

"He and his father had… a tiff… now he's got nowhere to spend the night. Can he stay?" chat asked.

"Um..." Marinette tried not to scream, but it was difficult. "I have to ask my parents."

"I can wait," Chat said.

She watched chat fold his legs under him to make himself comfortable on her bed, ready to wait for her return. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to be. Marinette moved towards the trap door, hesitantly.

"Do it Marinette! This is perfect!" Tikki urged.

"No its not Tikki, what if there's an akuma?!" Marinette whispered.

Tikki tempered her reply carefully. "I'm sure that won't be a problem. you can't leave him all alone on the street all night, can you?"

It wasn't the ladybug in her. it was just her. she cared about Adrien, and she didn't like seeing anyone stuck alone in the cold at night.

"I'll ask mum..." Marinette paused on the bottom rung of the ladder and called back, "Hey Chat?!"

Within seconds, he appeared, framed by the hatch, grinning. "Yes princess?"

"I might need a hand to beg dad. Mum will say yes but dad... my papa needs convincing when it comes to boys," she licked her lips nervously.

Her mother would make her dad agree. She was very convincing when she wanted to be. Marinette just didn't want to leave Chat snooping around her bedroom. She made a mental note to tear down all the Adrien wallpapering she'd put up.

Chat grinned. "It'd be a pleasure to be your knight in shining indestructible fabric, princess."

Marinette's parents could be found in the living room. They were known to laugh and talk all evening which was still bizarre to Adrien. Towards the end his mother father practically never looked at each other, let alone laughed and talked. This was nothing like his life, and he loved that.

"Papa, I know it's totally crazy, but Adrien had a fight with his dad and he's run away and needs somewhere to spend the night," Marinette explained, timidly.

Chat interrupted. "Well he didn't really run away, it's more like he was told to leave and not come back until he was ready to behave..."

Tom's friendly face turned sour. "Ready to behave?! As far as I can tell that boy works like a dog for his father, and isn't as appreciated as one!"

Marinette frowned. "Papa! Adrien wouldn't like someone talking about his family like that. Mr Agreste isn't the best person around, and he definitely uses real fur in his designs, but he still Adrien's father, and Adrien is…" she glanced at Chat Noir.

What would he think of her if he knew about her crush on Adrien? Not that it would matter, because she was Marinette. He didn't know her as anything more. Plenty of people had a crush on Adrien. He wouldn't think any less of her. still, having him here made her a little nervous.

"Adrien is my friend," she finished.

Chat Noir shifted awkwardly. He was trying to conceal his feelings and put on a show. One wrong move and they would all know that he was Adrien. He tried not to feel as defensive as he did. It was hard. Gabriel was his only family left after all. At least it was only for tonight.

Tom sighed. "I'm sorry honeybee. It's not Adrien's fault. I can't pretend I'm a perfect father, but sometimes it's easy to judge where others are going wrong."

"I - err, Adrien tried his friend first, Nino, he didn't pick up," Chat Noir explained.

"Alya says Nino sleeps like a log," Marinette smirked, as if this answered everything.

Sabine raised an eyebrow. "How would she know that?"

"Because Alya has a habit of phoning people at three in the morning because she gets caught up in finding ladybug and loses track of time. But I poked him on the van, and he really does sleep heavily," Marinette explained.

Chat felt the exhaustion on his shoulders and it wore him down. "It's a chance to change his lonely world. He's got nothing left in his way, and he's desperate for a place to stay."

"Of course he can stay here. We'll set up the spare bed in Marinette's room," Sabine declared.

Tom turned his head to stare at her, uncertainly, "Or there's the couch."

"The couch is fine," Marinette agreed.

"He can stay in your room so he won't be woken up when we go to work. After what he's been through, he'll need his sleep," Sabine countered.

Tom bowed his head. "Your mother is right, as always. A growing boy needs his rest."

Marinette tilted her head, hopefully. "So he can stay?"

"Of course," Sabine nodded.

Chat Noir beamed with delight. "Paw-some! I'll go fetch him!"

Chat Noir dashed down the stairs and out into the shop to transform, and finally be able to come into the warm to sleep somewhere soft. Adrien could just about hear them upstairs.

"I thought puppies play fetch," tom joked.

"Yeah well Chat Noir is a special kitty," Marinette giggled.

Adrien grinned with relief and gratitude. How could he ever have doubted his friends? Of course they'd come through for him. they cared about him. they really did! Plagg grinned at Adrien.

"Marinette is pawsome," he said.

Adrien grinned back to agree. Tom came downstairs to greet Adrien first. He mentioned Chat, so Adrien said he'd gone to finish patrol. Tom chuckled, and guided him with a large, supportive hand, towards the stairs to their house. Upstairs, Sabine greeted him with a warm smile.

"Good evening Adrien," she smiled.

"Good evening. Thank you for letting me stay," Adrien said, politely.

"Anytime. You're always welcome here," Tom smiled.

Adrien grinned at them gratefully. Marinette's parents were warmer than Adrien's. He would never allow one of Adrien's friends to stay, even if they were desperate. Although their house was big enough that if he tried to sneak someone in to stay, he was sure he could for at least a day.

"Marinette is upstairs setting everything up. You're welcome to stay as long as you need, but be warned, we get up very early to bake," she explained.

"I understand," Adrien nodded.

"Good. Do you want to shower?" Tom asked.

"No thank you, I... I'm actually just really tired..." Adrien admitted.

"Mari? Is the bed set up?" Tom called.

"Yes papa, come on up Adrien," Marinette called.

Adrien had been to Marinette's house once before, when they were working training for a game competition together. He knew the path to get into her room. To get up the ladder he followed the path he'd just walked, backwards. He peeped out of the hatch, and glanced about for Marinette.

"Mari?"

She was stuffing something into a drawer by her mirror, and her ears were turning pink already when he walked in.

"Hi Adrien, I was just - I was - forget it. Chat Noir said you had an argument with your father are you feeling ok?"

Adrien gulped. Right now he was just feeling empty. He'd cried out everything he felt earlier, and now he felt that cavity swallowing him whole.

"I'm just... tired," he sighed.

"Well you can choose, you can sleep in my bed, or on the camp bed," Marinette explained.

Adrien glanced up at the bed way over head. He knew it was warm and soft and he could sink in to it with ease. But it was hers. He was grateful for a bed, he didn't need hers.

"I'll take the camp bed," he said.

Marinette tilted her head, "are you sure? The bed is more comfortable."

Adrien shook his head. "You sleep in your bed."

Marinette was about to protest when something stole her attention. Adrien didn't see what, but she looked uneasy when she turned back to face him.

"I, err, I won't press it, it's not like it matters, but you'd be more comfortable in a real bed and... being comfortable after a traumatic experience, it's important..."

Adrien bowed his head. She wasn't stammering so much, but she was wasn't exactly focused on what was in front of her. She was slightly flustered, and seemed persistent that he slept in her bed. Honestly it looked far more appealing than this camp bed. Plus it would be easier to hide Plagg high up, out of sight.

"Y'know... I'd appreciate it," Adrien said quietly.

Marinette nodded and pointed upwards, shyly. "It's up there. Have you got pyjamas?"

The idea of seeing him dressed in his pyjamas made her flush pink again. Adrien didn't notice. He was too busy yawing. Adrien nodded, tiredly.

"I have a change of clothes and my pyjamas in my rucksack."

"Then I'll leave so you can change."

Marinette grabbed something off of her table and cupped it against her chest as she hurried out of the room. Her face was flamingo pink as she ducked out of sight. Plagg flew out of his jacket and instantly started searching for Tikki.

"Plagg don't run off! We don't want Marinette to think we're snooping!" Adrien hissed.

"Do you think she has any cheese?" Plagg asked.

"I don't know and I'm not asking. It's late, I'm tired, we're going to bed," Adrien insisted.

Plagg pushed back a book to show Adrien the dolls Marinette had made of Chat and Ladybug, grinning. "Look at these dolls, they're adorable!"

Unable to stop himself, Adrien lifted the Ladybug. He examined it, and an affectionate smile curled at the corners of his lips.

"She captured Ladybug really well."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Plagg muttered.

"Sorry?"

"You want want your own ladybug to cuddle up to at night," Plagg teased.

Adrien blushed pale pink around his ears. "Plagg."

"Is everything ok Adrien?" Marinette called.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Adrien put the doll down and moved the books back into place. Plagg dove behind a cup to hide from her. Adrien cleared his throat awkwardly. "Y-you can come in now."

Hesitantly, she climbed back up the ladder. He gave her a small smile, and she gave one back. It was a little stiff. A little awkward. But both of them had no where they'd rather be. There was very little conversation between them as Marinette set everything up so they could sleep. She paused when it came to turning off the light, in case he wanted it left on. He didn't. She switched it off. Suddenly the only light was a sliver of moonlight that ran through the room like a ghostly figure. Plagg found a small pillow on the edge of the bed that Tikki theoretically slept on, but she usually slept on top of Marinette instead. Plagg nestled in it. Adrien stared out of the skylight, up into the sky miles above him. It was jet black and crammed with laughing stars. He couldn't help wondering if his mother was up there too somewhere.

"I can see the stars," he said quietly.

Marinette glanced towards the bed. "From my skylight? There's a curtain if you-"

"No, I like it..." he muttered.

Something about stars drew out things you never thought you'd be strong enough to admit to someone. Things that made you vulnerable. Something in the stars compelled you to share them.

"I wanted to stay at the lake house," he said, softly. "I wanted to sleep there like everyone else got to..."

"Well there's less people, and it's not a lake house, but this is almost as good, isn't it?" Marinette didn't sound convinced, but reassuring nonetheless.

"It's amazing..." Adrien said softly. He felt the ball grow in his throat again. "Mother would have let me stay..."

Marinette sat up. She heard the tremble of emotion in his voice. He never talked about his mother.

"Mother would have sent me to the lake and let me stay until everyone else came home. She wouldn't have minded about fashion shoots she would have found someone to replace me..."

"No one can replace you Adrien."

That wasn't a kind reassurance. That was a statement. Marinette wasn't trying to kid him, she was telling him what she thought. She knew no one could replace him. He was one of a kind. But sometimes that's a heavy burden to bear.

In a low voice that Marinette scarcely heard, he whispered, "Sometimes I wish they could."

There was a long silence before Marinette broke it. Her voice was softer than velvet, and he only heard her because the rest of the world seemed to have muted itself for them.

"Tell me about your mother?"

It was a request. The first request he had heard in days. Between his father barking orders, Natalie's stern timetable, and his friends begging him to hang out, he felt like he was being pulled in so many directions he didn't know where to turn. Even his Lady... sometimes she felt more like his boss than his partner. She was so used to ordering him to do things that he wondered if she was forgetting that too. But Marinette... her voice was so soft... so gentle. She wasn't demanding anything from him. She didn't entirely expect an answer. She was just offering a friendly ear.

Adrien sniffed back the tears, "I remember, this one time..."

 _"Come stop your crying, it'll be all right. Just take my hand. Hold it tight now."_

He couldn't really see her properly. He saw the flashes of yellow and green that he saw all over his house. He remembered his mother's voice easier. It was like cinnamon.

 _Toddler Adrien sniffed, tearing up desperately, "Mama I'm scared!"_

 _"Don't worry dear, I'll protect you from anything dangerous. Come now, dry your tears," she said gently._

 _Adrien was small, but he was strong. He held onto his mother's hand so tightly that he cut off the blood supply to one of her fingers. She reacted by moving to hold him in her arms. A sweep of her golden hair curtained his face. He pushed it aside so he could see. Adrien breathed in her perfume. It was sweet. Rosy. He felt safe and warm whenever he smelt it. That little, that innocent, he never imagined that this bond could ever be broken._

He was too innocent to understand what he felt or why he trusted her more than his father, but his bond with his mother was different. She was already in his heart. From the moment he was an embryo he was in her heart. His father was harder to love, but he did. Just less.

 _"Don't listen to them Addy. Just hold my hand. You've got a wonderful destiny ahead of you, and you're going to be strong to get there. Even if I'm not around, you'll stay strong, won't you my love?"_

Adrien should have put it together then that she wasn't happy. That she wanted to leave. But he was a child. He was a scared little boy in his mother's arms, holding onto her _._

 _He nestled his head against her chest. "Yes mama."_

 _She ran her hand though his knotty hair, rocking him back and forth, lovingly, and hummed as she did. He was so safe. So happy. So naïve._

He could smell the rose like she was there beside him. Like her golden hair still swept around him. Adrien's eyes burned as he blinked back tears. He missed her with all his heart. Marinette had been silent all the way through his memory. Now her voice was stronger, so he could hear over the aching of his heart.

"She sounds amazing."

"She was."

That tremble of emotion was back. Marinette could hear how close to tears he was. she could never imagine the pain of losing her mother in any way, but she knew she would have to be strong if she did, because her father would need her. but soon they would grow past it together, and he would be there for her, as much as she was there for him. Marinette and her father had a strong bond, always had, and she knew losing her mother would bring them closer. Poor Adrien seemed to have been driven further away from his father by the event.

"go on, do something!" Tikki urged softly, from under the duvet.

Marinette sat up, carefully, and tried to find the words to help him. but when she opened her mouth, the only words that came out, were, "Adrien... do you want a hug?"

Marinette's ears already turned pink at the offer, but she didn't feel it. she didn't want to. Adrien was hurting. He didn't need some little girl with a crazy crush on him, he needed a friend. And she wanted to be there for him. Plagg nudged him, pointedly, to urge him to accept.

Adrien sniffed, hard. "I really do…"

He heard the camp bed creak as Marinette crept out. Plagg zipped under the covers, and out over the edge of the bed. He went – not that they'd know – straight to the camp bed. Straight to Tikki, who welcomed him with open arms. Marinette climbed up the ladder, onto the bed beside Adrien. His eyes were blurred by tears so he didn't see her. but he felt her gather him up into her arms and hold him gently. He squeezed her back. Holding on like he was afraid to let go. It had been so long since someone had hugged him - the last time had been Christmas, and his father hadn't mentioned it since. It was as if he had forgotten. Before that it had taken sacrificing himself for Ladybug to do it. Marinette hugged him because he needed it.

No one had done that since his mother left.

Adrien was afraid she would pull away, and he would have to let go before he was ready, but she didn't move. She didn't change. She stayed as she was. Flamingo pink, heated with mild embarrassment, and desperately protective of him. When she finally did move, he clung on slightly, before pulling back. He heard her voice, soft, with a slight laugh pinned to her tone.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm just laying down."

Adrien was relieved. Marinette laid down beside him, and wrapped her arms around him. He nestled close to her, desperate for the warmth she gave. There was a lot of heat coming from her now. His hands moved across her hip as he moved to hug her back, which made her flush hotter. If he could keep his eyes open he would see a girl who was more tomato than girl. He would laugh, but never mention it, because she was all he had now. All she had she was sharing with him.

She cared.

That was more than some people did. Adrien was so tired, and so emotionally broken, he couldn't stay awake. He slipped off into sleep, while Marinette still held him. he fell asleep, in her arms. Finally feeling safe again.


	10. Chapter 10

Morning in Paris, the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame. To greet the bells, the fisherman fish and the bakers bake, including Tom ... and his wife, and daughter. By the time the sweet scent of baking bread woke Adrien, the thunderous bells had dimmed and faded away. Replacing them was the twinkling of laughter from his classmate and her parents. The laughter rang out from deep in their souls, full of love and support and dedication to one another.

"Listen, they're beautiful, aren't they?" Tikki grinned.

Plagg yawned, but gave a weak nod of agreement. He opened one eye to watch her. her eyes were closed and her chin was high, as if it were easier to hear that way. A cute smile had curved across her lips. She looked completely content. Plagg smiled despite himself. she had that kind of effect on him.  
Adrien yawned. He had forgotten his slippers, so his feet were rather cold as he headed down into the bakery. As he passed the kitchen he saw that the macaroons and the cakes had been replenished. There were a dozen more bright, bold colours to suit your mood. Sabine appeared first, returning from the bakery to fetch another tray for the window display.

"Morning," she smiled.

"Good morning," He yawned back.

Tom appeared afterwards, slightly messy with blue cake mix on his apron. He beamed at him, warmly. "Good morning Adrien, sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you, and you?" he asked, politely.

Tom's smile widened as he glanced at his wife. "Always."

Sabine chuckled and hit him playfully with a table cloth. He laughed, and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek. Adrien watched, and smiled involuntarily. It was clear how much these two were still deeply in love. He couldn't help wondering if he and his lady could be like that. suddenly, he felt a hand tickle his waist, which made him yelp sharply. He swivelled round to see Marinette giggling behind her hand. Her eyes shone mischievously in the morning sunshine. She looked so comfortable here that there was a whole new side to her he hadn't seen before. He liked it.

"High-low Adrien," she beamed.

"High-low Marinette," he grinned back.

Her ears still turned pink. She looked away rather quickly, and placed the washing up in the sink to soak while her father took off his apron. Tom laid a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her close against him, affectionately.

"Thank you for helping us today Mari, I don't know what we'd do without you," he said.

She grinned. "There's nowhere I'd rather be dad. No, really, if you want me to miss school to help I'd happily-"

"Not a chance missy, you need an education, it's important," her mother smirked.

Marinette beamed. "it was worth a shot!"

"I was going to give you these, for your troubles, but since you've been so cheeky," her father teased as he held out a box of star shaped shortbread, still warm from the oven.

Marinette gasped joyfully, and took the box from him with glee. "My favourite! Thanks dad!"

Adrien watched, unable to stop himself from smiling. It was a cramped kitchen with all four of them in there, but it felt comfortable with the amount of love in the air. this was a family. A real family. This was what he wanted so badly. Tom cleared his throat and Adrien felt his heavy hand on his shoulder.

"There's one for you too young man," he smiled, handed Adrien a box of his own.

Adrien's eyes widened, and he took the box like it was something delicate and precious. "F- for me? Thank you!"

Tom glanced at the girls as they started washing up the mess in the sink. His hand didn't move from Adrien's shoulder, but he lowered his voice slightly, so only Adrien would hear him.

"Listen, no matter how tough things get, or how tough you think you are, your father loves you, which is worth fighting for," Tom explained, gently.

Adrien felt his words worm their way through his chest, leaving aching holes. He bowed his head. Tom lifted his hand from his shoulder, and added, more cheerfully, "But if you ever need sanctuary, you're always welcome here!"

Adrien's grateful smile returned. "Thank you."

Adrien could lie to himself and his friends, and claim he didn't mind that his father never spent time with him, he couldn't run and hide from Plagg. Plagg knew him far too well.

"What do I do?" Adrien asked.

He had the shower running, but he had barely bothered to get undressed. He sat on the toilet in his pyjama bottoms, holding onto his shirt with the shower steamed up the room and drowned out this conversation.

"You love your father, isn't that enough?" Plagg asked.

"Father loves me, it wasn't enough for me," Adrien pointed out.

Plagg frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't all those say love is shown every day? How does he show he loves you?"

"Well, he..."

Adrien racked his brain, struggling to find a way that his father showed him that he loved him. He had hugged him, but that was only after he had run away from home. He had let all his friends come for dinner, but again, Christmas didn't count because he had been worried about him. The rumour that he'd been kidnapped had gotten back to him within days. His father was convinced the only reason he'd ever leave was because he was kidnapped.  
He hadn't even phoned him yet today. He had kicked him out on the street and not even bothered to check he was still alive. Maybe he wasn't even worried about kidnappers anymore. He wouldn't until the ransom came through so he could play the victim. Adrien bowed his head pitifully. His father might love him because he had to, but sometimes it seemed like that was it.

"Let's just get to school, kid. I'm sure Nino's worried sick a least," Plagg said.

Adrien nodded. He turned off the shower, and got dressed into his last clean clothes. Even his misery didn't last long. As soon as Marinette saw him frowning on the way to school, she nudged him, and handed him a star biscuit. Adrien smiled softly.

"You're a star Marinette," he said.

She blushed, "it's nothing, I mean, it's just a biscuit!"

Adrien smiled at how oblivious she was. she let him spend the night in her house, in her bed no less, hugged him when no one else would, stood by him, and gave him food because he was sad. Marinette was a star. Even if she couldn't see it, he did.

Meanwhile Gabriel was ice cold with fear and red hot with anger, which made his staff either invisible or super-sonic runners to avoid him. poor Natalie got the brunt of it. especially since she had lost Adrien. She had no idea where he could be. she had hovered outside Nino's house to see if he was there, but when Nino left for school he was alone. The only place Adrien could be was school. He wouldn't miss it. not even now. Natalie's heart leapt out of her chest when she spotted that familiar blonde mop rounding the corner, with Marinette.  
MARINETTE! OF COURSE! Wait – what was she talking about? He barely mentioned Marinette, other than when he talked about Alya. She must have been the only one awake to take him in. Natalie made a mental note to visit the bakery, just to check out the safety again. Gabriel had made her do it when he started getting his bread from there, but now Adrien was spending time there, she'd make him do it again. deeper.

Adrien's heart sank when he heard the familiar voice call his name. he couldn't remember his mother's voice as well as he would have liked, but he knew hers. In a crowd of people, he could pick out hers. That deeply irritated him.

"We were supposed to follow you to make sure you didn't get hurt and we lost you. Your father is worried sick so you have to come home now."

"I don't want to," Adrien said, firmly.

Natalie sighed impatiently. "Adrien don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

"I don't want to go," Adrien repeated, louder.

Natalie was keenly aware that he was drawing attention to them, and if he kept this up, it would end up with some bad publicity. Adrien was burning with anger, and jealousy. He'd spent one night with Marinette's family and felt more love with them than with his father in a month. Now NATALIE had come to bring him home. If his father was WORRIED SICK about him why didn't he come and find him himself?! Well he wasn't going to take it. He wasn't going to face his father now. He was going to stay here with people who cared about him. Really cared.

Natalie straightened her back and remained her composure. "Adrien-"

Adrien did not straighten up, or attempt to keep his composure. Adrien no longer cared about how he looked. He had someone who would stick by him if things went wrong, and he was furious that it wasn't his father. Since he couldn't tell Gabriel that, he told Natalie.

"I want to stay at school! I don't want to go back to that house, I want to stay with my friends!"

He was raising his voice now, which made Marinette a little nervous. Alya had her phone high, filming already. Nino had a look on his face like he was ready to fight. He liked to pretend to be a pacifist, but if anyone would throw a punch to defend his friends, it was Nino.

"Come home Adrien," Natalie said, firmly, "your father-"

"NO!"

Alya stepped forward now, with her phone still in her hand, still filming.

"He's not leaving," She said, firmly.

Natalie looked down at Alya in irritation. She was fed up of dealing with one child who didn't do what he was told, she wasn't paid enough to deal with two.

"That's none of your business!"

"I've filmed all of this on my phone. You want to deny the boy an education. How do you think the world will react to that when I post this?"

Alya was not deterred by her harsh tone. Alya was a reporter. She refused to be afraid. She always impressed Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette beamed at her. "Yeah Alya!"

Natalie glared down at this child, who glared back, with her hands on her hips and eyes full of determination. Natalie mentally calculated how the negative press would impact Gabriel's business. People valued education. They had donated money to schools before, to get into the good books. This would make them look hypocritical. Natalie gave a frustrated sigh. She straightened up again, and fixed her hair.

"You will wait here until we arrive after school to pick you up is that understood?"

Adrien glanced over at Marinette. She gave him a reassuring smile, and let him decide what he wanted to do. Adrien remembered Tom's words and bowed his head. He glanced at Alya. She was so brave. Always so brave. Adrien bit his lip. She inspired him. he straightened up, chest swelling with determination, and stated, firmly:

"Only if my father comes to get me himself."

Alya, Nino and Marinette glanced between each other urgently. Gabriel hadn't even turned up in person to judge their designs. If he came now, to pick up Adrien, it would be the first time they saw him in person. well the first time they'd seen him in a situation where they weren't trying to convince him to change his mind about something. To be fair to Nino, who was most afraid now, he had been trying to defend his friend. The girls, they were trying to annoy him into changing his fur coats. He was thick skulled and they all knew it.

Without pausing to think, Natalie stated, "That's not possible."

Nino growled under his breath. "totally not cool."

Adrien thought very much the same thing. He squeezed his fist so hard the star crumbled in his palm. He looked down in surprise. _Cataclysm_ … he thought, fearfully. He could only destroy things. Not like Marinette who had created this biscuit… Marinette! he turned his head to look at her. she gave him a supportive smile again.

"Can I stay with you again tonight?" he asked, softly.

Marinette didn't pause to think, but stammered, "O-of course!"

Adrien smiled at her, gratefully. _You're a star princess._

He turned to Natalie and gave her a firm, unmoving glare. "My father comes to pick me up, or I stay with Marinette."

Natalie pursed her wiry lips, frustrated and impatient. These Agreste boys! They were so pig headed and boorish! Why couldn't they deal with these things themselves, like normal people?! she sighed again.

"I'll do my best."

"That's not enough. My father comes, or I'm going back to Marinette's house," Adrien said, firmly.

Alya raised an eyebrow at Marinette, challengingly. Marinette looked away, blushing as she felt the glare bore into her.

"Fine. Be here on time. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly."

Natalie turned on her heels and walked away, glad to be able to leave this situation. Adrien felt Plagg headbutt him, proudly.

"You did it! you stood up to him!" Plagg beamed.

"I did it!" Adrien whispered as a smile grew across his face.

Nino ran to fist bump him and Alya high fived him. they were laughing and cheering triumphantly, over each other, about how awesome that was. Marinette was a lot less physical about her pride in him. she wandered over, and grinned.

"that was great Adrien! I'm really proud of you!" she said.

Adrien's smile fell. He stared at her in shock. The words fell from her lips like they were nothing. she was proud of him. she was proud of _him_! it had been so long since he had heard those words that he had almost forgot what they felt like. She looked worried for a moment.

"Adrien? Is everything ok?"

Adrien stepped forward, put his arms around her, and pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her like he would never let go. He would never let go of this one. She was too perfect. Too caring. Too much of a princess. Marinette turned bright pink again. slowly, she wrapped her arms around him too. From the side lines, Alya laughed excitedly. She was unable to stop jumping with joy. She couldn't stand still. Alya threw herself forward, and threw her arms around the two of them, laughing. Not one to be left out, Nino leapt to the other side, and stretched his arms wide. His arms reached around as far as he could get, and ended up with one hand on Alya's shoulder, and the other on Marinette's back. Almost a complete circle. They stood there, laughing and chattering, until the bell went. Even then they lingered before pulling away.

Adrien sat down in his seat beside Nino in the front of the class. He was buzzing with adrenaline and pride. Alya was still beaming at him, proudly, every time he glanced at her. Nino was struggling to stop giggling. Every time Adrien looked his way he burst out laughing again. every time his eye flicked to Marinette she blushed, but there was nothing new there, except that he couldn't hold his gaze. Whenever she blushed, he felt an involuntary smile, and had to look down at his table.

She was _definitely_ special.

By lunch Marinette had given away her entire box of biscuits. She couldn't help it. Since they were star shaped she gave them out like praise stickers. Two each to Rose and Juleka for being sweet. (She couldn't resist giving them an extra one each, because she knew they'd end up passing it on) One for Kim for going three hours without issuing a challenge. One for Alix for not taking his challenge when he finally broke. One for max for helping her with her homework last week. Two for Ivan for not losing his cool when Chloe was mean to him. One for Mylene for being the only one to laugh at her joke. Two for Nathanael, for being brave enough to show her his drawing, for keeping on drawing even when he got in trouble for it. Although she wanted to give him another one, because he smiled and she loved that lopsided smile of his because it was so rare. When she had one left, she split it between Nino and Alya.  
Now the four of them were gathered together at lunch to eat the box Adrien had been given. Adrien was beginning to think too much. His mind kept going back to what the hell he was going to say when he faced his father. If his father turned up, what the hell would he say? Why wasn't his father more like Tom? Or was that not normal? What were other people's families like? His, or Marinette's?

"Nino?" He asked, slowly, "What's your family like?"

Nino shrugged. "I dunno, they're alright."

"Nino I'm serious. What's your family like?" Adrien insisted.

Again, Nino shrugged, but he put a little thought into his answer this time. "I guess they're a little strict sometimes but they're cool. They're always around in winter."

"Why?" Alya asked.

"Our heater has been on the fritz for years but we never have enough money to fix it in winter and when it warms up we forget to get it fixed. Now when winter rolls around and it's really cold in the house as well as outside, my family and I gather together like penguins. Nothing brings my family together like the cold."

Alix, who had come over to blag another biscuit, added, "For my family it's rain."

"Rain?" Marinette repeated curiously.

She moved the biscuits closer to her and she took two. One for her and one for Kim, who was heading over to chat to them too.

"My brother always forgets his umbrella when we go out so we all have to remember in case it starts raining. Last time I forgot mine and he forgot his and we had to hide in the louvre for an extra hour," Alix explained.

"I didn't think you and your brother were that close," Nino said.

"Yeah! My brother taught me to skate. I kept falling over and always caught me and stood me back up. Now I'm fast enough to beat Kim!" Alix grinned.

Kim scoffed, "You can't beat me to the food stall!"

"Wanna bet?" Alix grinned.

They locked eyes like stags locked horns. Kim broke first, yelling for their usual referee for dumb things like this. "Max!"

Adrien watched them leave. He stared into the air for a moment or two, swept up in thought again, until Marinette's voice drew his attention back.

"My family are always there. By my side in seconds if I need it. Or if I don't!"

"Your parents always have their arms out wide to welcome us to stay. They're lovely," Alya pointed out.

"Have any of you seen Kim or Alix? I heard them calling me but I can't seem to find them," Max appeared pretty much out of nowhere.

"Sure dude, they went that way," Nino pointed.

"Hey max, what are your family like?" Adrien asked.

Max poked his glasses further up his nose. "To answer that you first have to ask yourself what is a family? Well-"

Alya interrupted before he could start. "A family is a set of caring and devoted hearts with endless love to share. Love that follows you everywhere."

"Oh," max bowed his head for a moment, thoughtfully, and then shrugged. "Then I'd prefer to call Alix and Kim family. They're more devoted than my brothers. Although my brothers taught me coding so now I know how to cheat my way through most video games, even though I don't need to, because I've played them so much I know them by heart."

"You've got too much time on your hands Max," Alya said.

"Says the girl who spends her time chasing superheroes," Nino teased.

"Reporting on superheroes!" Alya corrected.

"That's much more important!" Marinette grinned.

"Can I please have a biscuit?" Max asked.

Adrien held out the box for him. Max thanked them, and left to find Kim and Alix. Adrien bowed his head. His family wasn't normal, neither was Max's, and Max still had someone who supported him. His brothers. Adrien was an only child.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll all wait after school with you so you don't have to be alone," Alya promised

"Hell yeah, I'll even come to your house with you if you want," Nino grinned.

Adrien smiled his model smile so he wouldn't look as worried. "Thanks guys."

Across the playground Chole frowned at Adrien. She recognised that fake smile a mile away. She had seen it a million times growing up with him, and she knew what it meant. He and his father were fighting again. Now chole was a lot of things. She was selfish, and apathetic, and arrogant, and spoiled, and underhand, and sneaky, and kind of a brat. But she wasn't entirely heartless. She cared about Adrien. Mostly as a shiny trinket she could show off to make herself look cooler, but part of her, deep, deep down, cared about the little boy she had met when they were three. He was blonde and rich and handsome and in many ways, he reminded her of herself. A nicer, kinder, far more moral, male version of herself, but something to aspire to.

Chole lingered outside the classroom waiting for Adrien to leave. He had been crowded by those stupid friends of his all day. This was the first time he wasn't with them, because he had piano practice. As soon as he opened that door, she pounced.

"What was it about this time?"

Adrien reeled back in surprise. He hadn't expected her of all people to be lurking beside the door.

"What are you talking about Chole?"

"I know that fake smile Adrien, I know it means you're fighting with your father, what was the fight about?" She repeated.

Adrien frowned. Typical. She was stuffing her nose where it didn't belong _again_.

"Why does it matter?" He asked sharply.

Chole shrugged. "It doesn't. It won't last. You'll go crawling back to daddy like always-"

"And you don't? Daddy pays your credit cards, daddy comes to fight the head teacher when you're called out for bullying, daddy loves you!" Adrien snapped.

He was red hot and furious with everything. It just escalated into snapping at Chole. Chole was used to being used as an emotional punching bag. She took it in her stride now.

"Your father doesn't love you he just wants a model he doesn't have to pay," she stated.

"He loves me! He just... doesn't like having me around."

"Then what's the point in having him as a father?"

Adrien stepped backwards. He hadn't expected to be lost for words in an argument with Chole of all people. He always won their fights and annoyed her so deeply she would storm off and ignore him for a fortnight. Now she had him beat.

"You can stay with me if you want. Until you decide what to do. If daddy complains I'll sort him out. But you shouldn't go back to your father Adrien. He's too manipulative," she offered.

Adrien bowed his head. Chole's hotel was big and luxurious, and more like what he was used to at home. That's what he was trying to escape. He didn't want to overstay his welcome at Marinette's, but he was desperate to spend at least another day there, if need be.

"I appreciate your opinion Chole-"

"It's not opinion, its fact, I am right, I'm always right," chole huffed.

Yeah that selfishness couldn't say away for long. But Adrien was impressed that she'd tried. She was a good person deep down. Deep, deep down. If she tried, she could be one of the best.

"I'll see you later chole."

To be honest Chole's argument was sticking with him. Adrien was smart enough to recognise when his father was trying to manipulate him, and it was a lot more frequent since he started school. Every single time he fell for it. Hook line and sinker. Even now, sitting on the cold, hard step in front of the school, his father was late. If he was coming at all. He knew Adrien would wait for him. Adrien would always wait for him. Gabriel left him to stew alone. Because even though Marinette was sitting a foot away from him, and Nino was wandering back and forth behind him, ranting about Gabriel being late while Alya was typing some report on how terrible a father Gabriel was on her phone, Adrien couldn't hear them. They were drowned out by his thoughts. By how ridiculous this whole thing was. How ridiculous he was for falling for it again.  
Marinette's hand shook his knee carefully. He turned his head to look at her. Silently, she gestured to the corner as the sleek car curved around it. Gabriel's personal chauffeur was in the driver's seat. No gorilla drove him anywhere. Adrien caught his breath.

His father had come.

He was going to face down his father on his own turf.

He was doomed.

The instant that Gabriel stepped free of the car Adrien had to wrestle with the urge to dash into his arms and start sobbing again, like grateful putty at his father's feet. He couldn't be Adrien right now. It was impossible for Adrien to stand up to Gabriel. He had to be Chat Noir. He just couldn't show it.

"Nice of you to show up," he said sharply.

"Nice of you to stand still," Gabriel countered.

"I make a handsome statue." Adrien stated.

He should know. He passed it in the park daily. Gabriel cast a withering eye across Adrien's friends. Nino had faced it once before and recoiled at the memory. Marinette felt an icy blast down her spine and daren't even glance up in case she met his icy gaze. Alya held out for as long as she could. A stubborn child, she always won staring competitions. Until today anyway. She bowed her head, just as Marinette did. Suddenly they all understood why Adrien hasn't stood up to his father before.

"Get in the car," Gabriel said.

His voice was cold and emotionless. Like a stone. Adrien gritted his teeth and focused on Plagg. A hot dot on his chest. The very essence of Chat Noir.

"You can't take me out of this school," he stated.

"Get in the car," Gabriel repeated.

"I love this school," Adrien continued.

"Get in the car Adrien."

"I love my friends and I will not lose them by leaving this school."

Alya gripped her phone tighter. If they dared to pull Adrien from school that video would be posted everywhere within seconds. No amount of ice could stop her.

"I am your father Adrien. I am your parent, your protection, your love."

"You do a lousy job showing it," Nino muttered. Alya hummed in agreement.

"I know what is best for you. I always know what is best for you-"

"You know what's best to smother me. I'm not a little kid anymore father. I'm growing up. I'm not perfect, I'm not what you want me to be, and I'm not the best thing I can be either because you won't let me find out what that is," Adrien argued, passionately. "How can I grow into the person mum wanted me to be if you won't let me grow?"

Another long pause. The fearful tension rose into a solemn one. Like a courtroom had settled on its sentence. They waited with bated breath to hear it.

"Adrien... get in the car."

Gabriel's voice was smaller now. Adrien had no idea if it was because he had finally heard his son, or to shield his company from anymore embarrassment. Either way, he had to choose if he trusted his father again or not.  
He didn't know if he trusted him, but he did love him. With all his heart. Sometimes there was no fighting that. Adrien stepped forward. He felt a hand on his arm, gently holding him back. He turned. Marinette's eyes pooled with concern for him. Adrien flashed her the warmest smile he could muster.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Alya and Nino stepped to Marinette's side. The three of them watched Adrien climb into the car beside his father. The door slammed shut. He waved at them from the window as the car pulled slowly away. Even though he had promised to be back tomorrow, they couldn't help feeling like they'd just watched their friend walk to his execution.


	11. Chapter 11

In the dark of the observatory, Hawk Moth's dark laugh echoed off of the curved roof. His poor kwami shivered with nerve some distance away. He did not want to be used for evil again. He did not have a choice.

"My friends," Hawk Moth purred, gleefully, "we are about to embark on the most odious, the evillest, the most diabolical scheme of my illustrious career. A crime to top all crimes! A crime that will live in infamy!"

"What are we going to do tonight Hawk Moth?" Nooroo asked, anxiously.

"The same thing we do every night Nooroo, try to take over Paris!" Hawk moth chortled, "But this time - from the brain that brought you the Eiffel Tower Topple, the head that made headlines in every newspaper, and wonderous things like the Notre Dame job - that cunning display that made all of Paris sob - now comes the real Tour de Force!"

The glee in his voice did not make Nooroo any less nervous. "But Master-"

He went ignored by Hawk Moth, who continued his plotting aloud. "It's tricky and wicked of course. My earlier crimes were fine for their times, but now a greater plot is finished simmering in my mind and I have the perfect chance to put it into action!"

"Even meaner? You mean it? Oh, Ga - um, Hawk Moth, you're-"

"The world's greatest criminal mind? Why, thank you. But it hasn't all been champagne and caviar. I've had my share of adversity, thanks to that miserable, second rate heroine, _Ladybug_ , and that insufferable pipsqueak Chat Noir. I haven't had a moments piece of mind from them."

The glee died and turned into a bitter snarl at the mention of them. He wasn't keen on Chat Noir, but Ladybug - oh Ladybug really got his goat. Who did she think she was, capturing his akumas and telling all of Paris that he was nothing to fear?! Now Chat Noir, he could be bargained with. Hawk Moth felt his pain every time he got close to the akuma. He could easily be tricked into handing over the ring, if Hawk Moth could figure out how to destroy the last hope he had.  
Because the last hope he had was always Ladybug.  
She always ruined everything! He had no use for her. What was the point in fixing the damage his akumas had created?

"The entire city adores Ladybug. Especially whenever the brat beats me," he said with disgust.

"But that's because-" Nooroo began.

Again, Hawk Moth ignored him. "that's in the past! This time, nothing, not even Ladybug, can stand in my way! All will bow before my ultimate power!"

"Oh, hawk moth! No one can doubt what we know. You're eviller that even you say."

Nooroo had meant it was an insult, but Hawk Moth gave a deep, dark chuckle.

"Yes I am."

The conversation between Adrien and his father was long and full of half-hearted-soon-to-be-broken promises, but it was enough. It was enough in the way that a plaster is enough to keep a wall together, or a single unsnapped thread of frayed rope is enough to keep a piano in the air. There was so much more to do, but it was a start.

"Hey chole."

"What now?"

"I wanted to say thank you. I wasn't very grateful yesterday but I should have been. You were right."

"When aren't I?"

"So thank you."

"You're welcome... you should tell the girl you like her."

"What?"

"I've seen the way you look at her. It's the way everyone looks at me. You love her. And you said I was always right so you _have_ to listen to me!"

Adrien flashed back to when a very angry little girl with bright yellow hair and a horrible scowl stamped her foot and demanded Adrien listen to her. Chloe never changed. Unfortunately, neither did Gabriel. Adrien didn't expect him to keep all his promises, but breaking the very first one the very next day, was almost enough to cataclysm everything. But Adrien took a deep breath to calm himself. He could destroy something less important later. For now, he put on his best model smile, and climbed into the car, ready for school. Where he was instantly attacked by all three of his friends who had been on a knifes edge waiting to see him.

"Did you tell him everything you had to say?"

"Did he listen?"

"Is this your last day?!"

"IS this your last day?!"

"He can't actually take you out of school!"

"We won't let him!"

"We won't let anyone take you away from us!"

"Do you want me to post that video?!"

"Do you want me to start a petition?!"

"Do you want me to ask Ladybug for help?!"

Adrien burst into laughter. The three of them were so desperate to help that they didn't wait for him to answer before barraging onto the next question. God, he loved them.

"I'm still coming to school. You won't get away from me that easily!" He laughed.

A wave of relief crashed over his friends faces. Finally they could breathe again.

"So what actually happened?" Nino asked.

"Well-"

BOOM! The entire place shook. Marinette and Adrien made their half-baked excuses and ran in separate directions. Alya went racing to her bike to chase down this new akuma before ladybug could even get there. When the bell summoned them to class, Nino stood on the steps, all alone.

"Wow. My friends are weirdos," he realised suddenly.

Chat Noir balanced along the rooftop behind the chimneys where Ladybug crouched. His heart soared to see her. As horrible as it sounded, he wished akumas were more frequent sometimes. Going too long without seeing her made him desperate.

Well absence does make the heart grow fonder.

"Ah Paris! the city of lovers! Isn't it glowing this morning?" He purred.

"Might be because it's on fire."

Ladybug gestured to the smoke billowing up from the orange and yellow flames wrapped around a building across the river. Chat Noir's nose twitched.

"Ah... but there's still something so romantic. Is your heart not alight too bugaboo?" He teased.

It was. And she knew the guy it was burning for. She'd never known a guy like him before. He wasn't the kind of guy you'd meet every day!

A smile escaped her lips. "It is."

His heart sped up hopefully. "Oh? Does he have a look that's all his own?"

Ladybug glanced Chat Noir up and down. She sized up in one glance he was talking about himself. Him flexing his arm muscles kind of made that obviously.

"He doesn't," she said.

Chat Noir gave a fake gasp of horror. "What?! All these guys that you could dangle, they're all the same from every boring point of view! You need a surprise from every angle!"

"Well someone like that would get extra credit," she smirked.

"Because of that something extra more?" He waved his ring in front of his face, pointedly.

Ladybug giggled. "I want a guy who's face you can't forget. We've all gazed at some Adonis, but we need something more nourishing to chew."

From inside the ring Plagg smirked. "Well there's no question. She loves a guy like you!"

"Plagg!" Chat Noir warned, laughing.

He threw a glance at Ladybug, worried she might think he was insane, talking to himself like this. Ladybug wasn't any different. She could hear Tikki chatting away in her ear.

"Call me a hopeless romantic, but Mari, I feel it! He loves you!"

"A guy like you with all you bring her?! A fool could tell, that's why she fell for you!" Plagg insisted.

"Who wouldn't love a girl like you?!" Tikki urged.

"Stop it!" Chat hissed.

"Tikki Shh!" Ladybug hushed.

They glanced at each other anxiously. They gave each other a queasy smile.

BOOM!

Ah. Yes. The akuma. Their akuma. The akuma for them to fight. That akuma. They hadn't forgotten it. They had just been... momentarily distracted.

"Chat, fake a right and break left. Watch for the akuma and keep your eyes on the prize."

Chat nodded firmly, and darted across the rooftops towards the fire. The fire department were already there, containing the fire to one empty house. Chat just had to distract the cause for long to figure out what turned him into this fiend. The large man was built like a brick house and dressed like a phoenix. That alone didn't faze him, but the fire balls in his hand, they were unsettling. Alya was there again. she was filming from just beyond the police lines. She turned her camera to Chat, and you could hear her laugh of triumph on the film. she was glad he was there to defend them. even if he wasn't ladybug. Still, Chat hesitated. He watched for the akuma. For anything that could possibly be the akuma. Something – THERE! On his chest! A dark purple pendant with all the brood in the world shining on it. that had to be it.

"see it?!" Ladybug called as she swished past him.

"THE NECKLACE! IT'S IN THE NECKLACE!" he called.

Ladybug nodded with determination. She swung towards the phoenix, ready to grab his necklace. Suddenly he swerved. He cried out at Ladybug something that Chat didn't quiet catch. Something about her miraculous probably. Ladybug lunged out of the way, narrowly avoiding a fireball, that singed the building behind her. chat noir gasped. He suddenly realised how dangerous this whole superhero thing really was. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he lost her. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't.

"What are you waiting for?! don't be afraid!" Alya yelled at him.

Chat Noir glanced down. Alya wasn't really encouraging him because she cared, but because she knew Ladybug was going to need a hand. Chat knew that too. She needed him. but now chole's words were ringing in his head. If she was that self-absorbed and still realised that he loved ladybug, then everyone else must know it too. Even ladybug. So why hadn't she said anything about it? chat had to protect her. he had to leapt to her rescue and stop her from getting hit with a fireball. He'd been hit before by Dark Cupid and Time-turner in defence of her. but now he was nervous. That was real fire… this was getting intense…

"CHAT NOIR GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" Alya screamed from way down below.

Chat snapped back into the room. Ladybug needed him. he set off, pole vaulting over to her, just in time to fly kick a fireball out of her way. Where it instantly exploded into Chole's father's hotel, and set the third floor on fire. Adrien winced. Chat noir never did have good luck. He was too good at destroying things.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Ladybug flashed him a smile. "Don't be, we can fix this."

He frowned. "How?"

"Just make sure you catch the necklace on the rebound," she said.

Chat tilted his head in confusion, but he trusted her. after all, she was rarely wrong. When the necklace went flying through the air, it headed straight towards the firefighters. Chat dove. He tumbled through the air, streamlined, with his arm out stretched.

"CATALYSM!"

Chat narrowly caught the akuma in one hand, and instantly tripped, plummeting to the ground with a crash. The crowd gasped. Chat Noir groaned, and held up the crumbled black necklace to show he caught it. The crowd went wild. He had been given a second chance and grabbed it with both hands. Destroying it magnificently. Ladybug's light filled the air, and fixed up everything. The fires died, the buildings fixed themselves, everything was okay again.

"Well that was fun. Let's do it again sometime," Ladybug said, breathlessly.

"maybe we can do it in a less lethal situation," Chat asked, hopefully.

"this is it!" Tikki gasped.

"he's finally asking her out!" Plagg grinned.

Ladybug took a step back, urgently. She didn't want to hurt him, she never wanted to hurt him, but if he was going to do this, she was going to have to. She had to get out of there.

"err, I have to go," she said.

Chat reached out to stop her. "Wait a minute-"

"This is not the time or place," she insisted.

"No, wait a minute-"

"You have to clear your priorities and get your head in the game. D'you understand?"

Chat scowled. "My head IS in the game! It's my heart that's wrong."

Ladybug winced. Her own heart was getting fractious. She wanted to run but she couldn't be sure he wouldn't follow.

"I can't help you with that," she lied.

Chat gave her a nervous smile, she took her hand into his. "only you can."

Ladybug pulled her hand back and stepped back urgently, "I can't! My heart... it's not... it's not yours!"

The colour drained from Adrien's cheeks. "Your - my - huh?"

Ladybug reached for his hand, thought better, and wrapped her arms around her chest, looking as awkward as she felt. "I love you Chat, but not like that. I love someone a little more... he knows be better."

Chat frowned. He shook his head, confused, and irritated. "Who knows you better than me?! Who could possibly know what it's like to be a hero better than me?!"

"Obviously he doesn't," she bowed her head and admitted, "He doesn't know I'm ladybug, I'm not allowed to tell him."

Chat Noir felt his heart tearing at the seams. This wasn't possible. This couldn't be possible. No one could love ladybug more than him, no one, and no one could KNOW her better than he did! I mean, sure, he didn't KNOW if he knew her outside of fighting, but he FELT like he did. He had faith that they were tied together beyond these masks, and he thought she did too. It couldn't be possible that she didn't love him. it just… it just couldn't.

"Who is he?" chat didn't want to know. But he couldn't not.

Ladybug looked at the floor and shook her head. "I don't think I should tell you."

Chat Noir had a thought that chilled him to the core. He said, in a low voice, "You think I'd cataclysm him?"

Ladybug's head shot up, eyes wide with shock at the very idea. "No! No I do not! Never!"

Her tone was so shocked that it was tinged with anger at the mere suggestion that she didn't have faith in him. chat noir bowed his head guiltily. Of course, she didn't. she was too perfect to do that. but he was frustrated again. why did nothing go right for him anymore?!

"Why won't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"

"I do! I won't tell you because… it's just… he doesn't even know! If I'm going to tell anyone I love him it should be him. He should know before anyone else… Even my partner."

Chat winced at the word he once wore as a badge of pride. "So that's all this is? Partners?"

He felt her hand on his arm, trying to reassure him, but it just made his heart tear quicker. The pity… it was too much to bare.

"There's more to it than that," she insisted.

"Then what is it?" he challenged.

"We - I - you - us - we just - I mean- you know?"

"No. What?"

Chat's voice was cold and demanding and it filled Ladybug with guilt. She searched for the best way to word her answer, but none of them felt like enough. In the end she just sighed.

"Somehow, some way, we're bonded. You and I will always be bonded. But when I'm not ladybug and someone asks me who I'm dating I can't say "I don't know, but he's also Chat Noir" because it would complicate things!" she insisted.

"You don't know that!" he argued.

"We shouldn't risk that! Even if there was no one else, we shouldn't date. But there is... I'm sorry…"

Chat felt hot angry, heartbroken tears sting his eyes as he glowered at the ground, wanted to cataclysm it into rubble, like his heart had been. No it hadn't. That was the trouble. Someone like chole, they would cataclysm your heart and walk away, laughing. People like that, they didn't have room for love in their heart. People like ladybug… they were softer. Kinder. Warmer. Even when they tore your heart apart like tear-soaked love letters, it was gentle. Chat knew how much love was in her heart, and how none of it was his…

That hurt more than a cataclysm ever could.

"Yeah, my Lady... I am too."

Ladybug's miraculous beeped. She swung away as fast as the yo-yo could go. Adrien darted into a supply closet, and a bright flash stole away Chat Noir. He was left exposed and heartbroken on the floor. He had no tears left to cry anymore. He'd sobbed out enough tears to last him a lifetime in the last week. But the pain was still there. Throbbing in his chest. Burning like a fireball had hit him directly. The only other being who felt his pain, was Plagg. Plagg who now sat on his knee, exhausted and starving, and silent. That meant more to Adrien than any words Plagg could string together. Plagg was never silent. He even snored in his sleep most of the time. But now he was quiet, so Adrien would know he was hurting too.

"Kwamis… are better than people… Plagg, don't you think that's true?" Adrien said, slowly.

"Yeah... people will beat you and curse you and cheat you, but not all of them are bad… You aren't," Plagg replied, softly.

"I suppose…" Adrien felt a smile tug at his cheek. "At least people smell better than you, right?"

Plagg's heart lifted. He was making puns already. That kid was tougher than nails. "That's once again true, for all except you."

Adrien chuckled. "You got me there. I smell like cheese all the time!"

"Hey, at least it's nice smelling cheese. You smell delicious!" Plagg countered.

Adrien let out a soft laugh. He was so broken inside, he was almost numb to the pain. If he focused hard enough on Plagg, if he was stubborn enough to keep him constantly in his mind, the pain couldn't get in. he'd have something to make him laugh instead. Someone he loved, who loved him with every fibre of his being. Second only to camembert. As long as Adrien remained his access to camembert, he would always be number one in Plagg's heart.

"Why don't you like Chat Noir?" Tikki asked, between bites of her cookie.

Marinette sighed as she wandered down the deserted street back to school. "It's not that I don't like him Tikki-"

"Is it the cat-like way he walks? Or the silly way he talks? Or the claw shaped weirdness of his feet?"

"It's that I worry about how well he washes. He always smells like cheese. But then again so does Adrien sometimes," Marinette smiled, affectionately.

Tikki wasn't in the mood for letting Marinette dictate the conversation. she and Plagg were trying to help these idiots realise that they were already in love without giving away that Marinette was Ladybug, and Chat Noir was Adrien, and it just wasn't working.

"He's sensitive and sweet though," Tikki insisted.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that enough for you?"

Tikki threw her arms in the air, "Oh so he's a bit of a fixer upper! So he's got a few flaws! You can fix this fixer upper with a little bit of love!"

Marinette pulled her bag further up her shoulder as she passed by a couple on the street. she didn't want them to think she was mad, or glanced back to look at her, and accidentally see Tikki.

Quietly, when they were alone again, Marinette said, "I don't want to have to fix him up. I don't have to fix up Adrien. He's already perfect."

Tikki was put in the unusual situation of being frustrated that Marinette was in love with the wrong side of the right man. It irritated her. "What makes him perfect? Is it the way that he runs scared, or that he's socially impaired?"

Marinette frowned. "That's mean Tikki."

Tikki knew it was. She felt the guilt already. "Well it's not like you don't like Chat because he's blonde, so what is it? You and I both know he's covering up that he's the honest goods!"

"I know what this job does to someone Tikki. I had to keep running away from everyone I've ever cared about to go and risk my life for them. One day I'll get killed out on a job and the last thing I say to them will be a lie about where I'm going..."

Marinette hung her head, like she was holding something back. Something important. Tikki frowned.

"Marinette?" she asked softly.

"He's a fixer upper. He's isolating himself because he needs a hug. He's terrified that he'll lose everyone he's ever loved and I know that! But I nearly died today Tikki. That fireball could have hit me..."

The primal fear twisted through her as she remembered that moment. She had felt the blazing heat on her face even from five feet away. It was blinding. She was terrified. If Chat hadn't been there... Marinette was still pretty shaken up.

"If he loves me, and loses me, he wouldn't be able to handle it. And he's got the cataclysm Tikki! He could destroy the whole planet because I... I can't fix it if I'm not around…"

"But you're Ladybug. Ladybug fixes things," Tikki insisted.

"I'm also Marinette and she breaks things. Things that are important! Things like..."

The way she trailed off, the fear in her tone, it made Tikki realise what she meant. Tikki said softly, "You're scared of breaking his heart?"

Marinette whined softly. "I'm clumsy enough with my own, I can't handle someone else's."

Tikki was too close to see how much of a fixer upper Marinette was. Her brain was a bit too in between anyway, muddying it up by letting her fall for Chat would take her head out of the game. Like Adrien. And they'd get a repeat of Stoneheart. A small slip up that could turn the whole city against them. Tikki bowed her head, ashamed of herself for not noticing earlier.

"I'm not saying you can change him... or that he could change you... but love is a force that's powerful and strange... People make bad choices when they're mad or scared or stressed. Offer him some love, and you'll bring out his best," Tikki insisted.

"I... its... it's _safer_ to love Adrien. There's not a lot of chance I'll ever get him to love me back, but there's enough that I can if I keep trying. And if I die on a mission... Paris will still be standing, and that's what matters."

Tikki's chest swelled with tears. It had never been so obvious to her that Marinette was a child. She was so young, and she was still thinking of her city before herself. Tikki should have been proud, but she couldn't. She couldn't think of anything other than how beautifully pure she was. How perfectly chosen she was, but far too young. Far, far too young.

An akuma attack really shakes up your day. an hour ago, the four of them had been hugging each other laughing. Now the mood had twisted. Adrien was broken hearted, no doubt because of his father. Marinette was miserable for no reason as far as they could tell. Alya was deeply focused on figuring out why Chat Noir and Ladybug were so out of character at the moment. Only Nino had any cheer left in him. even that was syphoned away by a sick cocktail of his friend's misery, and maths.

Poor Nino.


	12. Chapter 12

Words failed Plagg. There was nothing he could say to cheer up Tikki, no matter how much he tried. She wanted him to just sit there. To just be there for her. like he always was. that wasn't enough for Plagg. He'd come all this way, risking being seen in the classroom, to climb into Marinette's bag, and found Tikki in tears. He wasn't about to leave, but he wasn't going to do nothing. Plagg had to see her smile. He HAD to.  
Hesitantly, he ran his hand along her antenna where they hung low down her head. She sniffled, quietly, but leaned against his hand. He was trying to remember the words to that song that had gotten stuck in his head when Adrien took him to Disneyland recently.

"All the birds sing the words... and the flowers croon... in the Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki room!"

Tikki raised her head slowly. She didn't know the song, and she didn't really understand, but she couldn't hold back the smile. That spurred him on.

"Welcome to our tropical hide away, you lucky people you! If we weren't in the show starting right away we'd be the audience too! In the Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki room!"

He urged Tikki to join in. Slowly she joined in, quietly at first, but growing stronger as their voices joined, laughing between laughter as they did.

"In the Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki room!"

Plagg sang the other words solo, because Tikki had no idea what they were, but she joined in the chorus gleefully.

"All the birds sing the words and the flowers croon-"

"In the Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki, Tikki room!"

"You sing so beautiful I should sing solo! See solo we cannot hear you! My voice may not be so marvellous but my profile is out of this world! The problem is... it's not far enough out of this world!"

He nuzzled closer to her, and she giggled at him, like a Christmas bell. He leaned heavily against her and raised his arm to point at an imaginary bird. Tikki leaned forward to look where he was pointing, and gave a fake gasp of awe.

"Hawaiian bird is a clawed macaw! because they have claws? No! because they're macaws!"

Tikki giggled and she leaned against him as he pointed out at their imaginary paradise.

"their beautiful friend is a jolly toucan - it can sing better than two toucans can!"

Tikki blushed but she was already red so it was difficult to tell. Her antenna perked up cheerily.

"The bird paradise is an elegant bird! It likes to be seen and loves to be heard most little birdies will fly away but the Tikki room birds are here every day!"

Plagg showed off, pointing out all the pretty brightly coloured birds, blue, red, green, yellow, orange, all soaring around the tropical clear blue sky above them, between their sun rich, palm trees. Tikki giggled wildly. She couldn't stop laughing when Plagg set his mind to making her.

"This show was delightful, I hope you agree! I hope that it fills you with pleasure and glee! Because if we don't make you fill like that we're gonna wind up on a lady's hat!" Plagg tickled her under her chin, so her antenna curled up and tickled him back making him giggle.

Between laughs, he choked out, "We love you and you love us so c'mon and join us in another chorus!"

By this point Tikki and Plagg were laughing too much to finish the chorus. They just couldn't get through it. They shushed at each other desperately, trying to shut up fast, so no one outside the bag heard them. Marinette was the only one who heard them. Her chest was tight, as was her grip on her pen, but it eased when they hushed.

"Will you tell me what's wrong now?" Plagg asked hopefully.

Tikki sighed. "Marinette. She's amazing."

"And that makes you cry? I once watched Adrien drop toast butter side down and pick it up and eat it," Plagg said.

Tikki smirked. "Marinette ate half of Nino's burrito even after he licked it."

"There's nothing wrong with licking things to claim them as your own," Plagg said firmly.

She giggled again. He always made her forget her problems.

"She is in love with Adrien," she sighed.

"He is in love with Ladybug," Plagg said.

"She could fall for Chat Noir."

"He could fall for Marinette. I think he already has."

"But he told Ladybug he loves her!"

"I think he's scared of losing her. He loves her so much and he doesn't know she's the girl he's scared of falling for instead but he already did!"

"Marinette is scared of breaking Chat Noir's heart. She'd rather break her own on Adrien again and again and again, instead of opening her eyes."

Marinette loved Chat Noir so deeply she'd hurt herself before she hurt him. That was the tragic truth of the situation. Adrien loved Ladybug with all his heart and always would. Even in pieces his heart was hers. But the only person he knew loved him - or cared enough about him to make him think she loved him - was Marinette.

"There has to be a way to bring them together," Tikki sighed.

"Why bother? That kid isn't exactly the sharpest claw in the paw. Maybe she can do better," Plagg shrugged.

"Better than a handsome, sweet hearted, loyal multimillionaire who loved her from the moment she literally slammed into him in Paris? Cupid couldn't have done it better!"

"That drunk?! He can't stand straight and shoot anymore, of course he can't do better!"

"We can do more."

"Can we? We gave them the Paris skyline. We gave them a private lake. We gave them blue lips and skimming stones. None of it worked! Maybe we should give up."

"Give up?! Give up?! No way! We can do this Plagg, we just have to -"

Tikki trailed off. Plagg sighed. There was no fighting Tikki when she had her mind set on something like this. It was easier to just help. The sooner it was done the sooner they could move on to new plans. Like finding hawk moth for example.

"I'll bring Adrien to Marinette's house tonight. Get them under the stars overlooking Paris. But this is the last chance. We've given it all we have. If it doesn't work, it's time to let go," Plagg warned.

Tikki's bright blue eyes sparkled with delight. "Don't worry Plaggy. Nothing can go wrong in the Tikki room!"

Plagg couldn't hold back his warm chuckle. She was a funny little thing, and he adored her.

This was the night. A beautiful night. Perfect for their plan to finally fall into place. The skies had stars in their eyes that twinkled, ready for romance. The stage was set. All they had to do was get these young lovers side by side and the night would weave its magic spell. Heaven was on their side with this one, Tikki was certain of it.

"Let's go for a walk," Plagg said suddenly.

"Why?" Adrien asked suspiciously.

Plagg shrugged. "The brisk air might clear your mind. If not talking to Marinette might."

Adrien finally propped his head up in his pillow. "Marinette?"

"It worked last time," Plagg shrugged.

Adrien thought about this for a minute or two. She was the person he trusted most at the moment. He definitely didn't want to lose that.

"I couldn't... she would laugh at me if she knew I liked ladybug. Ladybug is beyond perfection... I could never be enough for her."

"Not if Chat Noir -"

"Chat Noir?! Plagg you're crazy."

Adrien was killing Plagg. He was killing him through small, infinitely stupid statements like this. Plagg took a deep breath, and laid a hand on Adrien's forehead.

"If you leave now there's no risk of running into Ladybug on patrol," he insisted.

Adrien frowned. That was something he had particularly been concerned about. "Are you sure?"

"Certain. Let's go see Marinette. Maybe then you'll get some sleep," Plagg insisted.

Adrien did want his sleep. And Marinette always made him feel better in the past. She would have an answer that cheered him up. She had to.

Marinette's heart sank when Chat Noir landed on her balcony. He tapped on the glass window with his claw. With every new rung her chest tightened. Guilt pulsed through her. She pushed open the trap door. He sat back on his hunches and flashed her a smile.

"Hey princess."

"Hey kitty. Any more people for me to take in for the night?"

Her voice was tight, but his was cooler. Smoother. He raised an eyebrow at her flirtatiously.

"Not unless you want me to stay."

Her chest was so tight she couldn't feel her breath anymore. She tried to stay calm, like she used to be around him. It was so easy to talk to him, so easy to admit things she wouldn't even tell Alya, and now... She couldn't breathe near him.

"No thanks, we're not supposed to keep animals in the bakery."

"Funny!" He chuckled.

Marinette tilted her head. He didn't have his usual flare. Something felt a little off about him. More than just how off she was. Something deeper.

"Are you ok?"

She feared she already knew the answer. He forced a smile. "Yeah, yeah."

She frowned. "Except?"

His smile faded. He sighed, and fell the rest of the way to the balcony floor. Marinette pulled herself up beside him. They sat together on the cold hard ground, and pretended they didn't feel the chill in the breeze.

"Except everyone thinks I'm ladybug's sidekick!" He sighed in frustration.

Marinette reeled back in surprise. "What?! No, they don't!"

" _You_ don't," he corrected, "Everyone wants Ladybug to save them, everyone wants ladybug's autograph and - I know it's not all about autographs, I don't even like signing them but... Ladybug is supposed to be my partner. Not my boss."

Another rush of guilt hit Marinette. She had never thought of herself as his boss and she was upset with herself that she had made chat think she did.

"Chat Noir she _is_ your partner. She couldn't do any of the things she does without you! You're there to protect the citizens and break down traps and whatever, to keep everyone free,"

Adrien liked the idea of being the only one able to break enough barriers to keep Paris free. For a moment it raised his spirit. Then, his ears drooped again.

"I love ladybug..."

He confessed. He glanced at her, awaiting ridicule that didn't come. She knew he loved ladybug. Everyone knew. None more than her though.

Chat cleared his throat nervously. "But sometimes I think she looked down on me. Like... like a silly side kick."

"Why would she do that?" She asked.

"Because I'm ridiculous and immature and reckless and selfish and I'm always trying to flirt with her or make him kind of dumb pun and I can't help it! If there's any possibility that that dumb pun makes her smile, even a little, I have to say it! I have to! Because I want her to smile all the time. But if being silly and messing around makes her think I'm not on the same level as her-"

Every pause and new sentence was like a knife in Marinette's chest. She was biting back tears. He sounded so heartbroken. She couldn't bare it anymore.

"Stop it."

"Huh?"

Chat Noir looked surprised at her. she seemed harsh. Irritated. But close to crying.

"Stop it now. You _are_ on the same level as Ladybug, we wouldn't _have_ ladybug if it wasn't for you! You came to the rescue from Stoneheart long before she did. You talked him into fighting. She couldn't move from that stadium wall and you were already fighting so hard! When she wanted to give it all up, when she wanted to stop being Ladybug, _you_ inspired her to carry on. Not some sidekick she looks down on, but you! Chat Noir, the hero of Paris, the partner she trusts so much she risks her life with time and time again. Do you think she'd leap from a flying sleigh with just a side kick to pull her back in?"

"No..." he muttered.

"Exactly. You're a lot of things Chat, but you're no one's side kick," she stated, firmly.

Chat smiled at her affectionately. Her nose was crumpled into a very stern don't-fight-me-on-this look. The passion in her voice was enough to convince him. Plagg was right. Marinette made him feel better. Like always.  
Chat Noir heaved a sigh and laid back on the balcony floor. Marinette froze. He patted the ground beside him, inviting her to lay down too. Hesitantly, she did. The warmth of her bedroom was stolen away by the tiles. Her back turned to stone, and her nose was pink with cold. The only part of her that was warm was where her arm touched Chats. He was so warm... like bread fresh from the oven. The heat from him wormed through her. His tail curled around her leg, tying her closer. Chat Noir purred softly. Contented. It vibrated through his chest into hers and made Marinette smile as her heart melted.  
This was torture.  
Gentle, blissful torture.

When he spoke, he spoke softly, but he was so close it was louder. Like a whisper right into her ear.

"That star - second to the right, that one makes me think of you," he declared.

Marinette stared at the star in wonder for so long the stardust sparkled down into her eyes.

"Of me?" She gasped.

She wasn't looking at him, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "Mmm. That one is full of dreams and plans that really can come true because it burns so brightly it dwarves those around it. That's you."

Marinette felt his words like melted chocolate on strawberries. If she wasn't careful her heart would melt into liquid and slip straight from her chest, and it wouldn't be her own anymore.

"It's a star that shines with a light that's rare. Its light leads you were you need to go. Gleaming in the skies above, it leads everyone to lands they dream of. That reminds me of you," she said softly.

Chat Noir turned his head to blink at her in surprise. He smiled softly. Lovingly. His heart was being stuck back together with melted chocolate and she was going to finish it off with a beautiful flourish. Like only she could.  
Chat Noir bit his lip nervously, as he hesitantly reached for her hand. He paused when he heard her breath catch. Even more hesitantly, he curled his finger underneath hers. His heart beat faster when she didn't shudder at his paw. cautiously, she slid her hand across his, and linked her fingers though his. Chat Noir gasped softly. His heart was glowing.

"At least..." he gulped, "at least, when this journey is through... when we have to say goodnight... we'll still have that little star. The second from the right."

Marinette yawned. The moon moved so the lunar rays ran across her hair and her face turning her to silver. Her beauty in the moonlight over threw him. He couldn't stop staring. How had he never noticed how beautiful she was before? How blind had he been? She pulled away from him for a moment, and Chat clung on desperately. He held her hand tighter, terrified of letting go. Chat didn't want to let her slip away.

His voice was desperate as he pleaded softly, "Don't go."

Marinette finished stretching her other arm, holding his hand with the other, and rolled over to face him.

"I'm not going anywhere."

His eyes lit up. She was inches from her now. Sleepy and adorable and so close... Her fingers were linked through his, and her face was inches from his, and her eyes were sparkling in the moonlight and she was. So. Utterly. Beautiful. He blinked in wonder. Everything in his mind searched through every choice every decision every moment that lead him here.

To her.  
Under the stars.  
In the middle of Paris.  
With her.

Somewhere, somehow, he had set himself down a path where he would end up heart broken and hopelessly in love all over again in the same day. With two entirely different, utterly wonderful, goddesses. It was almost an honour to have his heart broken by one, and it was a privilege to have it fixed by the other. Marinette's quiet, half-asleep chuckle made his chest ache with affection.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything is perfect."

Except he ached for her. To lean forward and closed that gap. To kiss her... Marinette rocked slightly. He watched in shock and wonder and hope as she edged forward. Her forehead laid against his. Their heads together. So close to her lips.  
Her beautifully kissable lips.  
Marinette closed her eyes. This was torture. This was stupid, ridiculous, WONDERFUL torture. Chat Noir smelt of the most expensive cheeses and perfumes and leather. He felt sharp at his points - his claws, his ears - and the metal buckles in his tail were cold against her leg. But up here, in the middle, there was a tender, caramel centre. Soft and squishy and huggable.

But why was she falling for him now?!

She was so close to getting Adrien to fall for her and now she was giving her heart away - no, her heart was rebelling against her. This was her hearts escape. Willingly throwing itself into his arms, because he was _purr_ fect. He was her partner. She trusted him with her life, and like a lemming her heart and followed.

"Can... can I..." Chat stammered.

He was edging closer, hesitantly, ready to pull back. Her breath shook with nerve. With desire. She slowly edged forward too. Tikki beamed giddily as their noses touched. Marinette's silky lips brushed against his. He felt how soft she was. How precious she was. He daren't touch her, in case this was a dream. In case she would vanish away from him if he touched her. Hesitantly, nervously, he reached towards her cheek. His hand shook, centimetres from her face. He couldn't bear it if this had been a dream.  
Then he felt her hand again. It was real and human and there. Beside him. Touching him too. Chat Noir cupped her cheek gently as she pushed herself deeper into the kiss. She felt his claw run across the softness of her cheek. Marinette whimpered.

This was too good...

She couldn't go back to loving Adrien now...

There was only Chat Noir in her head.

This wasn't going to end well. She pulled back, wincing. His eyes opened in surprise. A rush of guilt hit him. Ladybug was everything to him. He shouldn't betray Marinette but treating he like some rebound fire ball! She was too special for that.

"Chat..."

"I know..."

Tikki filled with air. She felt the pressure building up in her tiny little belly. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Chat Noir rise from the ground and jump onto the railings. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and leapt from the balcony without looking back. Marinette kept her eyes close until she felt the rush of air to let her know he'd gone. Tikki buried herself into the pillow, and screamed louder than the birds outside your window at three in the morning.

How God damn stupid were these two?!


	13. Chapter 13

Alya was trying to cheer Adrien up, since he was sulking miserably. The guilt of last night had struck him when he woke up from a blissful dream about sitting by the lake, beside a bonfire, under the moon, and spotted the spots of Ladybug on the wall. Now he was unable to shake the guilt, which angered him, because Ladybug blatantly didn't love him, so he couldn't be betraying her.  
She didn't love him. But she trusted him. He never lied to her. He wasn't lying now.  
But it felt like it.  
Adrien dipped his head low when Marinette came over. He flushed with guilt, but his heart ached to be close to her. Marinette kept her eyes firmly on the table, refusing to glance at Adrien. She wasn't dating him. He didn't love her. But she felt like she was betraying him somehow. That guilt burned in her stomach.

"Hey girl, guess what I found last night!" Alya grinned eagerly.

Marinette ignored this and said, in a low voice, "Alya can I talk to you?"

"Any time girl, what's going on?" Alya asked cheerily.

Marinette glanced for a split second at Adrien before staring down at the table again, harder.

"In private?"

"Anything you can say to me you can say in front of Adrien," Alya smirked.

She was hoping it would be something fun and mildly embarrassing that they could tease her about. Maybe that would cheer both of these miseries up a bit.

Marinette's voice stayed low and sharp. "No, I can't... Please?"

Alya frowned. She could see a desperate flare in Marinette's eyes. "Alright, now I'm worried."

Nino waved as he passed by, but only Alya waved back. He frowned as he sat down beside Adrien. Adrien was staring at the table and didn't notice.

"Dude what's up with Marinette?" Nino asked.

Adrien's chest tightened in alarm and answered, a little too sharply. "How would I know?"

Nino was taken aback by his abruptness. "I dunno dude, you two have been super close lately-"

"No we haven't, I barely even know her!" Adrien answered sharply.

"GIRL WHAT?!"

Alya's cry shook the entire building. It echoed off the walls and bounced back to Adrien and Nino. Adrien felt blood rush to his cheeks. He could guess what Marinette had told her. Nino remained oblivious.

"What was that all about?" He asked.

"Search me," Adrien shrugged gruffly.

Nino turned his head to frown at Adrien suspiciously. Adrien continued to move his pen along his notebook, pretending to be busy so he didn't have to talk to Nino.

"I can see the drama is all over there. I'm gonna check it out," Nino declared.

Adrien raised his eyes to watch Nino hurry over to where the girls were huddled by the wall. Nino waved, and even though Adrien couldn't see his face he knew Nino was giving that silly smile. Alya threw her arms out wide and spoke to him loudly, in huge gestures, like she did when she had discovered something huge. It was usually something one step closer to finding Ladybug, which he always felt privileged that she chose to share with him before her blog. It also gave him the chance to protect Ladybug, and himself, if she found something that was a little _too_ close. Now though, she wasn't telling him anything. None of them were even glancing back in his direction.  
Adrien felt a concerned tug in his chest. He had driven all his friends away...

And then chole sat down with a plunk, folding her arms and demanding, "did you fix things?"

She stole his attention but mixed him up as if she had picked up a snow globe and shaken it into a flurry of snow, except he was the snow globe and the mess was his thoughts. They were harder to gather again.

"Hmm?"

"With your father obviously. You're not faking a smile so either you made things worse, or you've fixed things," Chole stated.

Adrien's eyes rolled and he shrugged. "My father and I have a rocky relationship but it's stable at the moment."

Because it was going back to normal. The breakfast catch-up he had promised this morning was proposed until lunch. Tomorrow. Chloe was unimpressed by his answer. There was no drama so she was no longer interested.

"Boring!"

She stood up to walk away, but Adrien didn't want her to go. He didn't want to sit alone again, and Chloe might now be his only friend anymore, but she was his first, and he would always be grateful for that.

"Hey Chole, how did you know I was in love with ladybug?" He asked.

Chole made a strange noise somewhere between snorting, choking, and laughing. However you defined it, it was very condescending, but it dragged her back to the table.

"Ladybug?! Seriously?! She is way out of your league! I meant Marinette who is way out of your league but, like, in the other direction!"

"Marinette? I'm not in love with Marinette!" He insisted.

She laughed giddily, which irritated Adrien no end. He felt like a Christmas cracker, with Ladybug pulling on one end, and Marinette pulling on the other. All too soon he would burst and one of them would win. But who?

"I'm not in love with Marinette," he repeated, softer.

Chloe laughed gleefully still, and there was a mean light in her eyes. He had said something she could use to bully Marinette and now he instantly regretted it.

"You might want to tell _her_ that. That loser has been in love with you forever. It's sad really. No, wait, not sad, what's the word I'm thinking of? Ah _pathetic_!" She snorted.

Adrien's eyes became dinner plates and he blinked in shock. Marinette was in love with him?! How could he toy with her emotions like that?! Adrien was a terrible, awful, horrible person! He treated her heart like a rag doll and now-

Wait a minute...

CHAT NOIR kissed Marinette last night. Not Adrien. If she loved him so much, why was she willing to kiss Chat Noir? She loved Adrien, not Chat Noir. She didn't know that Chat Noir didn't love her, he could be madly smitten with her! did she even care about that?! Was she just playing with Chat Noir's heart like - like - like - A BALL OF YARN?!

"How do you know she's in love with me?" Adrien asked uncertainly.

"Because I am a genius. A beautiful, wonderful, amazing-"

"But _how_ chole?!"

"Don't interrupt!"

Adrien growled under his breath. Even Plagg rolled his eyes. When she eventually finished bragging about herself, she gave a cocky laugh, and asked him:

"Isn't it obvious?"

Adrien shrugged, "Say it isn't?"

"Oh, Adrikins you have so much to learn," She patted his head condescendingly.

He expected her to just stand up and walk away after that. to belittle him, and abandon him, like it didn't matter. But she didn't. she had to stand to pat his head, but she sat back down now. she laid her chin on her hand, and stayed at the table to explain what he wanted to know.

"when a girl likes you, she always looks in your direction. She always stares at you, until you meet her eye too, and then she can't hold your gaze. She looks at those ugly shoes of hers."

Adrien glanced over at Marinette. Her shoes weren't THAT ugly. But they were worn. Clearly she'd had them for years. Adrien got new shoes every month. not through choice though. Nino's shoes were old too. Clean and well-kept but old. So were Alya's! Worn out from running after ladybug no doubt. What was it with these lot and worn out shoes?! Adrien made a mental note to buy them all shoes for Christmas.

"plus, she's always trying to touch you. I mean, she can't even talk to you without stammering, and she's too nervous to reach out and touch you, but if your close enough, she tries. Like, she brushes your hand and stuff. Like this I mean!"

Chole reached for his hand, and softly brushed hers against it, so gently he barely felt it, then pulled her hand back. Adrien had no idea if Marinette ever did that to him. it would be too soft to feel, or too soft to remember at least.

"I mean she laughs at your terrible, _terrible_ jokes. Like, you are not funny, and she thinks your hilarious and perfect. If she's not in love with you she's incredibly stupid, which is a real possibility," chole warned seriously.

Adrien frowned at her in irritation. Marinette was not stupid. She was almost top of her class in most things. Sometimes he wondered if she would be able to help him improve his studying, but he never bothered to ask. If he told his father or Natalie he was spending time with her studying, he'd immediately be given a tutor, and told "you never needed one when you learned here!" and he'd have even less time of his own.

"most importantly she plays with her hair. No girl messes up her hair for nothing. if she touches her hair when you're around, she's got a crush on you. She can't talk to you, she can't look you in the eye, and she messes up her hair. That girl is in love with you."

Marinette's hair was always a little messy. She was always in a rush to get ready, so her hair ended up messy. He hadn't noticed it being different around him, or not. plus, this was chole. chole wasn't exactly the most honest of people.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" he asked, suspiciously.

"because I'm amazing. And girls tell each other everything. Watch whatever girl you consider her to be friends with for whatever dumb reason. She'll have told one of them she likes you, and that one will keep trying to make you spend time with them both, and bailing so you have to spend time with her alone. Honestly, girls are so tricky. It's terrible!" chole tutted, judgementally.

A furious and bodiless voice screamed across the playground: "CHOLE!"

Unfazed, Chole stood up, and prepared to hurry away. "Gotta go."

Plagg peered out from Adrien's breast pocket to watch chole hurry away. Plagg tutted.

"she causes more akumas than hawk moth. Maybe she IS Hawk Moth!" he gasped.

Adrien hummed dubiously. "I don't think Chole has time to be Hawk Moth. She's too busy terrorizing us. Plus she loves ladybug. She's her number one fan, remember?"

"the perfect cover for Hawk Moth to gather more information about her," Plagg grinned, suspiciously.

Plagg knew Chole wasn't Hawk Moth. He never felt the presence of Nooroo around when Chole was around. Not like he felt Tikki when Marinette was close. Nooroo was in Paris, he felt that, but he had no idea where. Far from where they were right now, that was for sure.

"What's your plan?" Plagg asked.

Adrien frowned, "plan?"

"For tell Marinette she's the cat's meow!"

"I've never make that joke!"

"make whatever joke you want, she'll laugh."

"I… I don't love Marinette," Adrien said firmly.

Plagg gave him an unimpressed, unconvinced look. "kid, you might not be a genius, but you're no idiot. Marinette is sweet and kind and cares about you. If you don't love her, you're insane. You were dreaming of the girl last night; how do you think you don't love her?!"

"dreams don't count," Adrien counted.

Plagg's unimpressed look deepened. "A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep! Why'd you think you lose your heartaches when you dream?!"

Adrien had never thought of it like that before. Maybe he did love Marinette. He glanced over at her. she was smiling, even though she looked uncomfortable. His heart went out to her. then he shook his head firmly, trying to think of Ladybug instead.

"You're wrong," he said.

"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true. The longer you pretend you don't love her, the longer it'll take for you to realise. Do you want to die at ninety and regret not telling her you love her now, to get the most time with her as possible?!" Plagg challenged.

"That's enough Plagg! She kissed Chat Noir. Either she doesn't love me, or she's far too easily distracted!" Adrien snapped.

"BUT _YOU_ ARE CHAT NOIR!"

"she doesn't know that!"

Plagg covered his eyes with his hands and tried very hard to get rid of the urge to fly over to Marinette and tell her here and now, in front of Nino and Alya, that not only was Adrien Chat Noir, he was in love with both her AND LADYBUG who he knew was her anyway! how could they not see their "love triangle" was a goddamn square?! Sometimes Plagg wondered why they ever bothered to try and save humanity. They clearly weren't worth it.

"if you won't go over there as Adrien, go as Chat Noir. If she's nicer to Chat than she is to Adrien, you know how she feels," Plagg suggested, like it was the last arrow in his quiver.

Adrien glanced desperately over at Marinette. He was completely torn. On the one hand he DESPERTATELY wanted her to love Chat Noir so he was off the hook because she would know a superhero isn't reliable, but on the other she was always to warm and kind to him he wanted her to love him. he wanted her to be his. Not because he was a model or a hero, but because she loved him.

"fine. But only because it'll shut you up," Adrien stated.

 _Humans are incredibly dumb for the species that created something as genius as Camembert,_ Plagg thought.

Chat Noir was used to sneaking up on people. it was kinda his job. But sometimes people would call out or cheer him on, and warn whoever he was sneaking up on, which would ruin it. Alya tried desperately to be subtle as she urged Marinette to shut up, as did Nino, but Marinette was rambling and couldn't stop.

"I mean he's a CAT! I couldn't fall for a cat, no matter how heroic or handsome or loyal he was. could I? no – no I couldn't. I mean it was just a kiss, I'm not going to go picking out wedding dresses. He probably messes around anyway, I mean, everyone knows he's in love with Ladybug but he kissed me anyway? that sounds like a player to me, right?" Marinette gave a queasy laugh.

Chat Noir's ears flinched. He had been about to reach out and tickle her until he heard this. Alya and Nino shared a fearful look, which made Marinette gave them a funny look. She hadn't realised Chat was sneaking up on her. she never did. Even with that stupid bell on his collar. That's why she leapt out of her skin when he spoke so harshly.

"It's funny, I never told anyone if I was in love with Ladybug or not. everyone just assumed I was. I'd have thought you of all people would know better," Chat said.

Marinette gave him a look of utter horror and shame. "chat! I didn't mean – I mean, - I meant – you told – mean you ACT like you love Ladybug! All the dumb jokes and silly flirting and, I mean, it's not like I can compete with LADYBUG!"

Alya stepped forward to defend her friend. "she's got a point, Ladybug is ladybug and Marinette, she's my best friend and all, but she's no ladybug."

"Thanks Alya. I think… but my point is Chat, it's not like we ever meant for last night to happen. it's not like I even KNOW you!" Marinette insisted.

Chat was feeling a ball of anger tightening in his chest, and burning its way through his whole body as he glowered at Marinette. He folded his arms and set his jaw furiously. Nino noted how funny Chat looked, especially when annoyed.

"Don't you?" Chat snapped.

"I – I don't!" Marinette stammered, insistently.

"Then why did you kiss me?"

"I kiss you?! No, no, you kissed me!"

"you didn't stop me."

"I – No… I didn't, but- I mean, it's um…"

"but what? Do you just let any random stranger kiss you?"

"NO!"

"then what am I to you?"

Alya watched Marinette digger herself deeper into this whole, and helpfully, under her breath, sang, "we dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig the hole way through!"

"You mean I'm just nothing to you? You let me kiss you, but I mean nothing?"

"No!"

"Dig, dig, dig with a shovel or a pick."

"No, it doesn't matter. I understand. Adrien is a model and he's rich. I'm just an alley cat. I get it."

"Chat!"

"Forget it Marinette. I will."

Chat turned away and stormed off across the playground, leaving Marinette flustered and helplessly clueless at what to do. Nino stepped forward, watching Chat's tail flick around the corner, furiously.

"Damn. That was cold," Nino said, surprised.

Marinette scowled. She spun around and glared at Alya. "ALYA! What were you thinking?!"

Alya reeled back in surprise. Her mind went blank. Like when a teacher asks you why you did something and the only answer you have is "it was funny" but that'll just get you into more trouble. The only thing Alya could think to say would get her into more trouble, but she couldn't say nothing.

"Early morn tonight we dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, everything in sight?"

Marinette threw her arms up in the air and cried, "URGH!"

Tikki was keenly aware that she was going to be ranted at now, probably hidden away in the girl's bathroom, and definitely asking _that_ question. Who does he think he is, telling ladybug he loves her, and kissing Marinette, and acted like he's always been in love with Marinette?! Tikki had no answer to that. she didn't really understand what had just happened. She knew Plagg was to blame though. that was a given. Not deliberately, probably, it was probably just his _terrible_ luck again. she'd have to check up on him when Adrien and Marinette had fallen asleep.

Hidden away again in Adrien's jacket, listening to him rant furious, heartbroken, about both of his girls lying about their affections for him, Plagg was done with his life. he sat still, pretending to listen to Adrien complaining, but inwardly, all he could think was: _Well. That went well._


	14. Chapter 14

Weeks passed and Adrien and Marinette's friendship frosted over, as did Ladybug and Chat Noir's. Marinette felt guiltier every time she stood near Adrien, and more annoyed at Chat at the same time. That spilled over into Ladybug, but Chat thought she was still awkward because of that whole "I don't love you" thing. At least Marinette had an excuse. She didn't _know_ Chat Noir. The more Adrien thought about it, the worse he felt. He realised that Marinette didn't know he was Chat, and he had been acting purely based on his heart. He had also figured out that she felt guilty about the kiss, because of her feelings for Adrien, because she was upset now. The jokes, the stammering, the blushing, it had stopped. She wouldn't even look at him now. He missed his adorable, flustered friend.

"maybe you should talk to her," Plagg suggested.

"What could she possibly say that would fix this? What would I say that could fix this?" Adrien sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe you should go and find out," Plagg suggested.

Plagg had lost track of who they were talking about. He decided it didn't really matter, since they were the same girl. He also decided that he was going to eat his cheese slower than ever, to make Adrien suffer the smell of camembert as Plagg suffered through this conversation. He turned his head towards the window, and spotted the smoking orange glow by the river before Adrien did. Ladybug was already down on the bridge, using her yo-yo as a shield against huge molten rocks flying towards her.

"Um, Adrien? I think it's time to let the cat out," Plagg said.

Adrien glanced out of the window and sighed impatiently at the new villain. He didn't want to go out now. He didn't want to face Ladybug. He didn't have a choice.

"What are you doing I said go left?!" Ladybug shouted.

She had torn her focus from the villain to yell at Chat Noir. He had just cost Notre Dame to lose a gargoyle, but he refused to let her guilt him.

"I don't have to do what you say anymore!" He shouted.

"You never had to do what I said, but you listened! Listening is what makes us a good team!" She yelled.

Chat noticed something burning orange and very big zooming towards them like a comet.

"Duck!"

Ladybug gasped as she spotted it to. Chat leapt backwards. At the last possibly second, Ladybug leapt back. A red-hot lava rock flew through the air between them, close enough to scorch her cheek and fill the air with a scent of sizzled hair. Then it went crashing into the river and died with an almighty hiss. Ladybug gasped in horror.

Once again, her life was flashing before her eyes. Her and Nathanael as toddlers drawing pictures of butterflies and giggling, became her father lifting her up to reach the mixing bowl so she could test the mix, which morphed into her mother teaching her a traditional dance, which transformed into starting school, and meeting Rose and Juleka, which faded into meeting Alya, then Tikki appeared, which turned into crashing into Chat Noir, meeting Adrien, and fighting Hawk Moth right beside Chat Noir. The ghostly figures of her memories played out in double time. Her friends splashing in the lake and laughing in the classroom. Her parents teaching her how to cook, and helping her to bake. Her and Tikki watching old movies and sharing popcorn. Her and Chat Noir in the moonlight. Her father teaching her how to skim stones, which she then showed Adrien. The way the stars twinkled brighter when Chat Noir reached for her hand. Standing up to Chole and getting elected class representative. The way Chat's voice shook when he asked to kiss her. The clicking of the sewing machine when she made design after design into real clothing. The way he kissed her so softly and so passionately at the same time. How protective her father's hands were when he tucked her in. The way her mother smiled when she said she loved her. The way she ran away when she broke Chat's heart. Her father's voice, clear and strong, in her ear, reading her fairy tales before bedtime.

"Her Prince was her true love, and had been beside her all along..."

Ladybug's vision fixed onto Chat Noir. The rest of the world blurred, and he was the only thing in focus. By her side. Always. Even when she didn't deserve it. That was love. This was love. Not whatever she had with Adrien. That was... close. This was it.  
He was her prince.  
And he was furious with her.

"Why don't you listen to me for a change?!" He demanded.

In that moment, Ladybug gave up whatever power she had been clinging to. It was time to stop being as hot headed as Volcanotron, and bury the hatchet. She only needed one word to do it.

"Ok."

Chat Noir's ears flicked up in confusion. He hadn't expected her to give up so quickly or easily. She was a fighter after all. They were fighting right now. He didn't expect her to be so understanding. And so suddenly! It bewildered him.

"What?" He asked.

Ladybug shrugged, "Ok. If you have a plan, let's do it. You're my partner Chat Noir. I trust you."

Chat stared at her. The corner of his mouth twitched up. She trusted him again. They were finally working through this. They were gonna get through this. Maybe things would start getting back to normal now.

"Alright. You keep moving and keep his eyes on you. I'll go from the left and sneak up on him to steal the broach. I'm light on my paws," he smirked.

She gave him a small unamused smirk. She had missed his puns.

"Don't get caught in the lava blast, he's a tricky one," she warned.

"Don't worry, he won't see me coming," Chat winked.

He pole-vaulted onto a nearby roof and vanished behind a chimney pot. Ladybug turned her attention onto Vocanotron. He roared loudly and threw molten rock at the ground. It moved across the road like the girl from the ring, instantly cooling into hard inescapable rock as it went. Ladybug leapt aside before it could pool at her feet. There was a trail of people cocooned by rock behind him. She didn't want to become one of those.

"HEY! DON'T YOU THINK THERE'S ENOUGH VOLCANOS IN EUROPE?!" She called.

The voice that replied sounded like the horse scream of a million-year-old demon trapped out of time and in great pain. It was unsettling to say the least.

"Not if there's no volcano nearby to throw my sacrifice into!"

"Sacrifice?! You've got nothing!"

"I'll catch you! Your miraculous to Hawk Moth, and the rest of you to the Volcano!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Ladybug leapt onto a dustbin lid that had ended up on the street, and used it to surf over the lava flow. It melted before she reached the other side, so she had to use her yo-yo to yank herself over the last few feet. This was met by excited cheer of triumph from Alya, who was hiding behind a post-box, filming everything as always. Ladybug flashed her a smile, and waved both of her arms above her head.

"HEY! YOU MISSED ME! I'M OVER HERE!"

Meanwhile Chat Noir edged up on Vocanotron. He could see the broach there, within reach if he jumped. Chat Noir adjusted his stance. He prepared himself for the jump. Just Vocanotron and him. Nothing else.  
Apart from the bystander who decided to yell at the precise moment Chat Noir leapt off of the ledge he sat on.

Everything became a blur of action. Chat Noir's graceful leapt became a fly kick, and he managed to get his foot square into Vocanotron's face, throwing him backwards. All the way down he spewed out volcanic ash that was now pluming in the air almost too thick to see through, and boulders. Chat Noir used the ash to his advantage. He stayed low, too low to be hit with flying boulders that were constantly being thrown, but high enough to keep his eyes on the prize.  
Volcanotron saw a black hand emerge from the ash, and swipe at his chest. He cried out in protest and fired as many volcanic rocks at him as he possibly could. Chat Noir was too high on adrenaline as he pole-vaulted through molten lava, to hear Alya's sudden and fearful cry. He threw the broach across the bridge, and Ladybug missed it. It fell at her feet. She stamped. It shattered. She caught the akuma. Chat Noir laughed viciously as the volcanic ash vaporised. He held out his fist to Ladybug.

With a cocky smirk and a hopeful tone, he asked, "Pound it?"

Ladybug wasn't smiling. She blinked at him, pained. Her face was twisted as she was taken over by an aching, throbbing pain in her head. His face fell. A trickle of blood ran down her cheek from somewhere hidden in her hair. It dripped to the ground. Chat Noir's voice was barely a whisper but it was full of concern.

"Ladybug-"

She didn't wait. Ladybug staggered a little, swaying on her feet, but she set off running. Racing for somewhere to hide. Without thinking, acting purely out of fear, Chat Noir took off after her. He was faster, but she was bad on her feet. Instead she was using her yo-yo to swing like Spiderman away from him.

The last thing he saw as he raced to catch up, was a flash of pink as she vanished from view. Chat's heart stopped. When he found her - if he found her - she wouldn't be Ladybug anymore. She would be herself.  
Herself, but bleeding.  
Heavily injured.  
The joy of beating Volcanotron vanished. The excitement of being in charge died. The hope that they could work through this withered. All that was left was a horrible hole. A terrible, dark, fear. He had to know if she was okay. He had to. He no longer cared who she was, or if she loved him, he loved her, and she was hurt, and he HAD TO KNOW if she was ok. He had to.

So Chat Noir raced around that corner.

And the sight that greeted him, chilled him to the bone…

It was a tragedy. No more no less. It could not have been any worse. It could not have been less like what he had hoped. When Adrien imagined finally knowing who his lady was, he imagined her confessing because she loved him too much to keep it secret anymore. He imagined closing his eyes and kissing ladybug, before pulling away and opening them to find out who he was really kissing.  
He imaged a sweet, intimate moment that proved her trust him, as well as her affection. Then he would step back, reveal he was Adrien, and hope she loved him enough that this made no difference. Because he couldn't imagine he would ever stop loving her, no matter who was behind the mask.  
He hadn't. After all this time, and all of the mixed-up fear and guilt tangled over his feelings for Marinette had been for nothing. Now he knew who she was, he realised he had to face that fact. He had been torn up because he loved both sides of her, and now those two sides were one girl.  
One girl who made up the love of his life.  
Who was laying in the middle of the street, unconscious and bleeding from her head.

Her kwami knelt on her chest. She looked like a large ladybug. If Adrien wasn't so overcome with fear at the sight of Marinette so badly beaten, he would have found Tikki adorable. But here was his princess, his lady, his partner, his friend, his love, his EVERYTHING! Everything he had ever wanted was in front of him, and he couldn't see if she was breathing or not.

"Help her chat noir! Help her!" Tikki squealed fearfully.

"How?! I - I don't know what to do! She's the one who comes up with ideas!" Adrien confessed fearfully.

Footsteps came running around the corner. Tikki gasped. Alya gasped. Her voice filled with horror.

"MARINETTE?!"

Chat Noir turned urgently, deeply grateful and relieved to see a familiar face. "Alya! Phone an ambulance!"

Alya immediately fell into the role of protective friend. Her judgement wasn't as clouded by fear as his. She was so horribly worried that it cleared her mind so she could think rationally.

"The hospital isn't far and you have your staff, carry her!"

"But-"

"No! Are you a cat or a mouse?! Either way you're much faster than an ambulance!" She yelled.

Alya was right. Adrien knew enough that he knew when to listen. Carefully, as if she were an injured bird, he lifted her into his arms. Whenever he had caught ladybug in the past he was always surprise by how light she was. He joked that it was so it was easy for him to sweep her off her feet. But now he held her close to him and she was too light. Like a feather.

"Don't worry my lady... you're gonna be ok. Just hold onto me... please..." he whispered.

Alya shoved him, yelling even though her voice was tight with emotion, "BE QUICK CHAT! HURRY!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chat Noir cradled Marinette protectively from the moment he lifted her up, to the moment he laid her on the stretcher in the hospital. By now his miraculous was beeping chronically. If he didn't get somewhere fast, he was going to be revealed to the whole world. Or the whole hospital anyway. But how could he leave her? She was all alone, even her parents didn't know where she was. All she had was him. He couldn't let her slip away.  
Especially not now that he finally knew who she was. He watched, rooted to the floor, as the nurses hurried the stretcher away and around a corner. He couldn't see her anymore. It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like time was standing still.  
That it dare not move until she did.

Chat had seconds before he lost his mask. He didn't care. He was about to chase after the stretcher, when a strong shove against his left arm pushed him into a cupboard. The door slammed shut and the blinding flash filled the edges of the door frame. Adrien caught Plagg in his hand quickly. He blinked in shock, unable to figure out how he had ended up in this cupboard. Adrien tucked Plagg into his pocket with a slice of cheese to keep him quiet. He opened the door to see Alya standing there, arms folded, glancing anxiously around the room, trying to see where Marinette went. Her eyes fixed on him and her face went from shocked to furious to surprised again.

"Adrien?!" She choked.

Adrien was not thinking straight. He scowled at her. "Why did you shove me in a cupboard?!"

Alya did not have time for stupid questions. "Where did she go?!"

Adrien dropped his anger and let the fear grip him stronger. He turned his head and remembered where the nurses had ushered Marinette.

"This way!"

Another busy few minutes where so much happened that they could remember none of it, ended with Adrien and Alya stuffed into a relative's room, alone, and anxious. Alya tapped her phone against her lip as she paced back and forth. Adrien bounced his leg nervously. They had been waiting for an agonisingly long time, and his mind had cleared back to the cupboard. Now he felt foolish. He should have hidden himself. He shouldn't have relied on Alya to protect him. What kind of hero was that?

"Why," his voice was rusty so he cleared his throat. "Why did you let me hide?"

Alya stared at the door unblinking, willing someone to come and fetch them. When his voice interrupted her thoughts she didn't blink, but she moved her phone from her lips, and folded her arms.

"Because you were being stupid," she said plainly.

Adrien frowned. "I was being stupid?"

"You were going to let everyone see who you were. Only you and I saw Marinette. No point in both your secrets getting out," she said sharply.

There was a tense silent pause as Adrien accepted her answer.

"Thank you..." he said.

She didn't respond. The tension needed defusing. The only way he could think of was a pun.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag now."

"Too soon."

"Sorry."

This pause was longer. Alya was still letting the facts of the situation settle on her. She had woken up for school, seen the news over breakfast, and run to the bridge to film Ladybug and Chat Noir in action. Now her best friend was either dead or dying, and LADYBUG! And ADRIEN was CHAT NOIR! And the only reason no one else knew that, was because she had shoved him into a cupboard.

it was a hard thing to take in. Alya blinked finally. Her eyes were aching with relief. She bowed her head, and refused to look at Adrien.

"She lied to me for years... She let me run after her, headlong into danger, time and time again. I have a blog dedicated to finding out who she is and she's been next to me the whole damn time!"

Alya spoke with poison on her tongue, but she was shaking with fear. Adrien didn't know what to say except to defend Marinette. "You can't blame her-"

"I don't. She couldn't tell anyone. She was protecting us from hawkmoth, I get it... but who would I have told?!"

She didn't want an answer, was so desperate when she asked that he felt she needed one. And he knew the answer to give.

"The whole world. We've seen your blog Alya, you would have told everyone," he said, softly.

Alya couldn't fight that even if she wanted too. She didn't have the spare brain power to think of an argument. She was busy working through everything still.

"I - yeah probably... I don't care about that anymore!" Alya's voice dropped as she said, "I just want her to be ok..."

Adrien gulped. He could feel a worried ball forming in his throat. "Yeah. Me too."

It was a slow start. They did nothing but sit in silence and worry for the first hour. By the second, Alya began to get a bit bored, and more than a little curious about the secrets of the miraculous. She asked questions that Adrien couldn't answer alone, so he introduced her to Plagg.  
Plagg was his usual self, but more sympathetic to the situation. He answered all her questions to the best of his abilities. He only ducked behind Adrien's leg when a porter came to the door.

"These are Marinette's personal belongings. Will you hang onto them?"

"Yes!"

The moment the door shut and the porter turned away, Adrien went tearing through the pockets of Marinette's jacket to find Tikki. She buzzed out like a bee and straight into Plagg. Her tiny little sobs wrecked her whole body, and Plagg had to hold her upright to stop her hitting the floor. Alya stared at them in fascination and horror. The only person she hadn't genuinely considered to be Ladybug, was Marinette. Now the very thing that had her the hero she was, was sobbing in the arms of the thing that made Adrien a hero.  
Her world had been turned upside down and she was yet to have breakfast.

"Alya will you keep this secret?" Adrien asked seriously.

Alya turned her head to stare at him. She was a reporter. Her blog was all about revealing this news. Revealing who Ladybug was. She'd dedicated - and risked - her life to it. Now... nothing mattered anymore.

"Yeah. Both of your secrets."

Adrien heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn't wanted to doubt Alya, but there was always too much of a risk.

"Tikki are you alright?" Plagg asked.

For the first time since Adrien had met him, he seemed genuinely concerned.

"She /has to be okay! She has to!" Tikki sobbed.

"She will be Tikki. She will," Adrien insisted.

This was as weird for him as it was for Alya. He felt like density had always been leading him here, but it had accidentally blown up somewhere along the way, and now...

"What if she isn't?"

"Don't talk like that."

"But what if she isn't?"

There was no answer. There was no replacing Marinette, and Paris would need a Ladybug. Hawk Moth wouldn't stop until he had her miraculous.

"He found Nooroo. We thought he was lost forever. Maybe he'll find Marinette too," Tikki said.

It wasn't like her to be so down. It concerned and upset Plagg. The only thing he could think to do was wrap his arms around her and sing "IN THE TIKKI, TIKKI, TIKKI, TIKKI, TIKKI ROOM!" Over and over despite her protests until she broke down and joined in. It didn't cheer her up, but it stopped her from crying.

Alya reached out hesitantly. As gently as she could, she stroked Tikki's head, and tried to be nice to her. "Be brave little one. Make a wish for each sad little tear, and then hold your head up again. Marinette isn't gone. We just have to wait for her to find us."

Tikki sniffed again. She was running out of tears but not out of loud, sobbing noises.

"Oh don't cry! Give it time. They'll be reason to smile instead of that frown, just as soon as she sees the love waiting for her. You're part of that love, you see?" Alya insisted.

Tikki climbed into the crook of Alya's arm, and nestled against her. Alya was the only one who knew Marinette almost as well as she did. Alya was the closest thing she had on hand. Plagg glanced over at Adrien. He met his eye. Neither of them said anything, but that look, it spoke volumes. There was no relationship quite like theirs, but they would never change what they had. Not for anything.

"There's going to be a lot of people around here Tikki... Marinette's dad won't leave this room until she wakes up, and the nurses will come in and out," Alya explained.

"I have to stay here and be there for her," Tikki insisted.

"It's not safe Tikki. Stay with me for a while and I'll look after you," Adrien suggested.

"If you think I'm leaving this room until my best friend is awake and safe you are wrong. Tikki can stay with me and I'll take care of her until Marinette wakes up," Alya said.

"I don't care who looks after me. Marinette needs looking after," Tikki argued.

Plagg laid a hand on Tikki's head. "Tikki have you eaten yet?"

Slowly she shook her head. Plagg turned his head not enough to see Adrien, but enough to be in his direction.

"Adrien go get Tikki food."

"But-"

"Adrien. Tikki needs food."

Adrien forgot sometimes that Plagg was an ancient and powerful - whatever. Sometimes he forgot how old and stern he could be when he was serious. Probably because this was the first time he'd seen it. Ever.

"I'll go. I need a walk to let this all sink in. Is there anything you want in particular Tikki?" Alya asked.

"Cookies if they're available. Something sweet if not," Tikki said.

Alya laid Tikki on Adrien's knee, and left to go and find a vending machine. Plagg and Tikki sat on each of Adrien's knees as he clawed into his chair and focused on his breathing. He had had anxiety attacks before, and googled how to fix it so his father didn't have to know. Now he could feel one creeping up on him.

"All those days watching from the windows... All those years outside looking in... All that time never even knowing just how blind I've been... now I'm here and... I can see everything so clearly. I'm meant to be with her," Adrien sighed.

"At least he sees the light. It took long enough for that fog to lift!" Plagg to huffed.

It should have been warm and read and bright. The world had shifted. It had changed to bring him and Marinette together. To make everything different, because now he could see her.

"I've be chasing her as a daydream. Its... it's all such a blur, how couldn't I see it?! She's always been there, she was shining in the starlight, that's when I should have known!" Adrien was frustrated with himself for not seeing it before when it was so blindingly obvious now.

Yes at last he saw the light. The fog had lifted. The sky was clear. The world /was different. But Marinette was not here to share it with him.

"Should we call her parents?" Adrien asked Alya when she returned.

"And tell them what? Marinette got hit by the Volcanotron when she was standing too close because she was fighting to get their akuma because, oh yeah, she's Ladybug. Don't worry she's just in hospital bleeding from her head and unconscious and we have no idea if she's still alive yet!" Alya snapped sarcastically.

"Then what do we tell them?!" Adrien huffed.

"I don't know!" Alya complained in frustration.

"Tell them she fell at school. Marinette is always such a klutz they'll believe it. Just say this time she hit her head pretty bad," Plagg suggested.

"That could work. The only time she isn't useless is when she's stealing phones," Alya said.

Adrien frowned. "Stealing phones?"

"It's not the time," Alya said.

"Alya you phone them. It'll be less suspicious coming from you," Tikki said.

Alya nodded. She reached into Marinette's jacket and took her phone from the pocket. Adrien frowned.

"Shouldn't we... can't we... can we wait?"

"Wait? What for?" Alya asked.

"Just until they say she's ok? I just want to have a minute or two where it's only us, and she can talk to Tikki and no one will be suspicious," Adrien begged.

Alya frowned. "Everyone will be suspicious. And that's pretty selfish."

Adrien bowed his head, "I know... but please?"

There was a pause. Alya glanced at Tikki for guidance. Tikki raised her head slowly, tears wetting the edges.

"Please Alya? I wanna see her so bad."

Alya sighed. She knew Marinette. She wouldn't want her parents to worry unnecessarily. It would be better to wait until there was news to tell.

"We can wait until the porter gives us news. Then I'm phoning her parents," she said, firmly.

Plagg admired Alya. She seemed to be taking a very complicated day in her stride. Like she was used to it already. Or, at least, she could pretend it was. faking it was the first step to making it, after all. Alya wasn't a superhero, but maybe she should be. He made a note at the back of his head. Trixx would love this girl.  
Adrien and Alya leapt to their feet when the nurse opened the door. Tikki hid behind Alya's shoulder, and Plagg ducked into Adrien's jacket. The nurse cleared his throat.

"Are you with Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"Yeah is she ok?" Adrien asked urgently.

The nurse nodded. "She's stable. We have to figure out how hard she was hit. It hit her-"

"Is she still alive?" Adrien interrupted.

"Yes. But where she was hit... depending on how hard she was hit she'll either recover just fine, or she may... in rare cases it can cause people to fall into a coma."

"A coma?!" They gasped.

"But at the moment she's doing well. Have you phoned her parents?" He asked.

"Um, I was about to, can we see her?" Alya asked.

"She's asleep right now, but yes. Quickly though. She needs rest," the nurse warned.

The nurse led them down the hallway to a room where Marinette was set up in a bed at the back, by the wall. She was all wired into a life support, and still completely unconscious. There was a constant beeping to remind them she was alive. The nurse let them stand around the bed, watching her sleep, and left them to it. Tikki ran along the bed and sat on Marinette's chest.

"Mari? Can you hear me? Wake up Mari!" She begged.

Adrien had never been to a hospital like this. Not that he was used go hospitals. He'd only been to one a few times, and it was sleek and clean and private and quiet. Here he had to step between the corner of the curtain and the bed to make sure no one overlooked and saw Tikki.

"Typical. That girl is lazy enough to slip into a coma because she wants a nap. She once slept through an akuma attack in the park near her house, despite the fact I phoned her three - oh."

Adrien felt bad for Alya. Marinette had had to lie to her. she had to defend her and herself from Hawk Moth. It would be easier to steal their miraculous if they weren't activated. But the longer he watched Alya staring at her friend, he could see how her view of her changed. Marinette was her clumsy, scatter-brained, innocent best friend who lived in the bakery and helped her with her Lady Blog. Now she was different. She was a superhero. Strong and confident and quick-thinking, and so, so awesome. And so fragile. Vulnerable. On life support. She had lied and deceived her for years and now it had come back to bite her, and Alya was terrified for her. Adrien thought of Nino. Alya and Marinette seemed unbreakable. Even this wasn't enough to break them apart. Him and Nino… he couldn't imagine Nino's reaction. He hated liars and lying. Even if it was for a good reason.

"You should phone her mother now. she needs her," Adrien whispered.

He couldn't keep his eyes on her. His vision was blurred by tears and fears. This entire place was wrong. She needed somewhere private. Somewhere she could have Tikki with her at all times.

"It's not visiting hours. You'll have to come back."

"But-"

"our patience need rest. You'll have to come back later."

Adrien had never been so upset in his life. well, apart from one time. He was thrown out into the street, with Alya, shaken up, and incredibly annoyed.

"When is visitng hours?" Adrien asked.

"not for three hours… I don't feel like going to school today. Shall we go to the bakery?" Alya asked.

"why?"

"to tell her parents face to face. Maybe then I'll find a way to say it."

Adrien did not want to face Marinette's parents when they found out that their daughter was in hospital, but he also didn't want to go to school. He knew going home would upset his father, so he didn't want to do that either. That's how he found himself wandering in through the bakery door, greeted by that mouth-watering scent of cakes and cookies. He heard the familiar, friendly laugh of her father.

"Well welcome you too. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Um, actually, we never made it in due to… there was an accident on the bridge," Alya stammered.

"Oh? What kind of accident? No one got hurt did that?" tom asked, concerned.

"Actually…"

Alya still hadn't fugured out how to explain to Marinette's father that she was injured and in hospital. Tom watched them, concerned, and Adrien cleared his throat.

"Marinette did. She's in hospital. She's stable and she's breathing but there's a risk she might fall into a coma. I'm really sorry," he explained.

It took a long time for it to sink in to Tom's expression that his daughter was in danger. His tone grew hard and worried as he called for sabine.

"oh! Oh Sabine! Sabine?!"

"What is it honey?"

"pack up, we're going to the hospital, it's marinette!"

Sabine's voice grew fearful. "is she ok?! what happened?!"

"lock up the bakery," Tom ordered.

"but we cant afford-"

"Oh please, we don't have anything to do today, and we really don't want to just sit around and wait, can we look after the bakery?" Alya begged.

Tom gave her a concerned frown. "I don't know-"

"Please?!" Adrien begged.

"we've done it before though. please?" Alya begged,

"if it'll help. Just… just make sure you don't get over worked, and are always polite. And… don't mention where marinette is. If anyone asks, we're busy baking extra buns or something. Ok?" Sabine warned.

"Don't worry, we've got it all under control," Alya promised.

Tom gathered everything and ensured everything was in place for them to work easily and efficiently, and hurried Sabine out of the front door quickly. Sabine was worrying. She still didn't have the same amount of answers as Tom.

"Is she ok? What happened?" sabine asked urgently.

"I don't know. I knew we should never have let her carry on this ladybug nonsense!" Tom groaned.

"we coudlnt have stopped her! I carried that girl for seven months, and stayed by her side until she was strong enough to leave the incubator, she's a fighter. We couldn't have stoped her fighting for Paris," Sabine reminded him.

He understood that. he had to. It was an argument they had been having since they realised it was their daughter standing infront of them, hiding behind a spotty eyemask. She didn't even change her voice, and she thought they woudlnt recognise her. it was a little insulting, but they didn't mention it.

"Do you think she's going to be ok? they said if she doesn't wake up soon she runs the risk of falling into a coma!" tom asked.

"This is Marinette we're talking about. She's a walking disaster but she's always ok in the end," Sabine asked.

"This isn't like before. What if she doesn't?"

"Then Paris will be relying on Chat Noir next time Hawk Moth strikes."

Alya was a genius. Hiding out here in the bakery, working with the general public, there wasn't time to worry about Marinette. Even Tikki wasn't thinking about Marinette as she sat in the cash drawer sorting out the change. Plagg was busy in the kitchen, ensuring that all of the empty trays that Alya brought out to him got put into the sink ready to be washed up. Alya was checking up on stocks, and switching up the trays to make them look fuller. Everyone who came in were too busy or self-absorbed to question why two children were working alone in a bakery. They were used to seeing Marinette behind the counter, two more children didn't faze them.

"do you think they'll mind if we eat some ourselves?" Adrien asked.

"I'm pretty sure they won't, but I wouldn't risk it," Alya shrugged.

"I'll buy them then. Do you want anything?" Adrien asked.

"I can pay for myself," she muttered.

"just let me buy you lunch."

"you just want me to forget that you're Chat Noir by being overly Adrien. All nice and kind and exactly what Marinette fell for. It wont work."

"alya-"

"she's my best friend Adrien. She told me when Chat kissed her. she felt awful because she was in love with Adrien. And then Chat tore her apart and made her feel worse because she was actually falling for him and felt bad because of Adrien. But you're the same person. you've been tangling her up for months, and now you think buying me one of those rainbow cupcakes is going to fix that?!"

Adrien didn't think it would fix a thing, but he brought one anyway. he handed Tikki his money and she counted up the change to drop into his open hand. She picked up, and peeled back the cupcake case, carefully. She watched him, suspiciously, as she took a bite. There was a lingering silence as they ate.

"Why did you kiss her?" Alya asked.

Adrien glanced up at her, and then back down at the cookie he was eating. "I love her."

"I know, but why did you let Chat Noir kiss her?" her voice was thorny.

"I fell for her forever ago. I didn't realise until the lake, and then she let me stay, and she cared about me. No one cares about me. But I was scared. I've been in love with Ladybug since I met her, and I thought I'd lose her if I liked Marinette," Adrien explained.

"that's stupid," she stated.

"I know that now. then ladybug broke my heart because she was in love with someone else – which turned out to be me! I was broken hearted and I wanted someone who cared about me around and… I lost control of the moment. She looked so much like ladybug, and she looked so pretty…"

"and you kissed her. as a rebound. Is that all she is to you? A rebound?"

Adrien stared at her. a rebound? From herself? that made no sense, but how could he tell her that?

"Alya he just said he's in love with her. he fell for one side of her, and then he fell for the other side of her. she's only one girl," Tikki pointed out.

"and she fell for one side of him before the other. They fell for each other twice. It's a square. You cant be annoyed at him for following a square," Plagg agreed.

Adrien sighed with relief. It was good to have two small, powerful, wise kwamis on your side. Well one wise kwami, and Plagg. It was Alya's turn to bow her head, shamefully.

"Logically I know that. but she's my best friend. I have to be annoyed on her behalf. I've been trying for years to get them together. Now you've fallen for her, broken her heart, and fixed it again in a month and I just… I didn't even get to witness it," she sighed.

"Are you really annoyed at that now? after everything that's happened you're upset you weren't there to see Marinette and I fall in love?" Adrien asked.

"It's ridiculous, I know-"

"no, it's sweet," he smiled. "You and she are close. that's nice. And I'm glad you know. Now I wont have to go through this alone."

Alya raised her head, and raised an eyebrow at him. "so we can go to the hospital together tomorrow?"

Adrien cleared his throat awkwardly. "Actually I think I'm going to ask my father for the money to move her to a private hospital. Then she'll get her own room and Tikki can stay with her all the time."

He waited for her response. He was worried that it would make him seem arrogant – too rich for a public hospital or something. Or that it looked like charity. He did not want to offend her parents by offering charity.

"that's… that's really nice." Alya seemed uncertain.

"that's amazing," Tikki countered.

Tikki really, really, _really_ , wanted to spend more time with Marinette. She couldn't bare being this far away from the action. It was just wrong. Plagg cleared his throat.

"that's going to be hard," he warned.

"I know. But it's something I want for her. Something I really want, that I'm willing to fight for," Adrien said.

They weren't entirely convinced that Gabriel would see it the same way, but they were wiling to pretend that they were, if it gave Adrien the confidence he needed to fight.

"if you need a hand, give me a call," alya offered.

Adrien nodded. "I will."

"of course it's going to cost you an exclusive interview," She winked.

Adrien laughed. "that, I can do!"

A customer entered the shop, and interrupted their lunch break. Adrien was grateful. Things were beginning to feel normal again. he was glad Alya was his friend. He needed someone as smart as resourceful as her in his life. especially when Marinette finally woke up…


	16. Chapter 16

The fight to get the money to move Marinette to a private hospital ended with that interview. Chat Noir was careful with the words he chose when he answered Alya's question, "will you be paying into the go-fund-me to get the injured girl – my best friend – private healthcare?"

"Well of course I've donated as much as I can, but I think there are big companies based in Paris like Le Grand Paris Hotel, or Gabriel, who can be doing more to raise money or attention. I mean, Ladybug and I ask for nothing in return for helping the entire city, and now, all we want, is to give the girl who got injured the best care available as an apology. Charity cantered companies, like Gabriel, they give and give and give, and we're greatly, but sometimes, like now, we have to ask for just a little more. Gabriel has a lot to give."

Alya beamed at Chat's answer as they watched the video back. "if he doesn't give you money now, he's heartless. No offence."

"I stopped being offended because of my father years ago," Adrien lied.

It was the next day that Gabriel actually sat with Adrien at breakfast, and they ate together. I won't pretend it wasn't awkward. Adrien was keenly aware of why he had chosen to honour this appointment.

"This girl that got injured by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. This girl is in your class isn't she Adrien?" Gabriel asked, calmly.

"She's my friend, father. I'm visiting her on my lunchbreak," Adrien nodded, equally calmly.

"In a public hospital?! No. You could contract MRSA. I won't allow it," Gabriel stated.

He placed his tablet on the table, and switched it off, so he could no longer see Marinette's face. Gabriel expected this to be the end of the subject, and usually, he would be right. What he wasn't aware of, however, was just how in love with Marinette Adrien was. he loved her far more than he loved his father right now, and he would not be giving that up.

Adrien reached for a piece of toast, and explained, calmly, "Father she is my friend. You cannot stop me visiting her."

Gabriel frowned. He thought this rebellious streak in his son was finally under control. Apparently not. he put on his stern tone. That usually put him back in his place.

"I forbid you to go to that hospital on your lunchbreak."

Adrien was not fazed by this. "Fine, I'll wait until five."

Gabriel's frown deepened. "Nonsense you have piano lessons at five."

"I know. But the girl I love is more important than piano lessons."

Plagg's eyebrows shot up. he was glowing with pride that his idiot was finally smart enough to admit he was in love. To see he was in love, to admit it, to stand up to his father to protect it. That was enough to make Plagg prouder than he ever had been before.

"Don't be foolish you're too young to know what love is," Gabriel spat.

"You can't stop me father. I am in love with Marinette and I am worried about her, and I will be visiting her."

Gabriel frowned furiously at Adrien. Adrien continued to butter his toast, aware of his father's glare, but unaffected by it. Right now, he was too worried and too in love to care about his father's opinion.

"I will not allow you to risk your health," Gabriel stated.

"Then pay for her to move to a private hospital, because I will not stop visiting her."

Gabriel hummed furiously. then dubiously. He picked up his tablet again. Marinette's bright grin shone out at him. Adrien smirked. no one could resist that smile. Gabriel had Natalie pay the last of the money into the go-fund-me that morning, and she was moved that afternoon, to a sleek, private hospital, across the city. Alya, Adrien, Tom, Sabine, Plagg and Tikki crowded in around Marinette, delighted at the privacy in the room. They had a window that overlooked the river, and opened enough to give in a breeze. It was less cramped, and Tom could stretch his legs in his chair without them slipping into someone else's cubical. The bed was softer and the nurses were less frequent, so it was quieter to sleep in. It also meant, no one else would see Tikki unless there was an emergency.

Satisfied Marinette was safe and cared for, Tom accepted that they couldn't lose any more money by missing days of work. He and Sabine went to work. Marinette was never alone during the day. When they were in school, Sabine watched over her. Nino joined them when they visited right after school. Sabine left them to it then. Adrien always left first. He had lessons and modelling to do. Nino left when Tom arrived after the bakery shut. Alya left when she had to, the latest she had to, and took Tikki with her. Tikki was disappointed by this, but she had to admit that spending time with Alya was interesting. Her house was hectic and busy, but full of love. Love, and yelling. Tikki couldn't help imaging what could have been if Marinette had given Alya her miraculous.

By the fifth day, they were convinced that she had slipped into a coma. Then, early on Saturday, Adrien got a phone call from Alya. Her voice was breathless and urgent.

"MARINETTE! SHES - _GET OUT THE WAY!_ \- SHE'S AWAKE!"

Adrien sat bolt upright in his bed. "She's awake?!"

"I'M ALREADY ON MY WAY, BE FAST!"

"I'll be there in five minutes. PLAGG! CLAWS OUT!"

Chat Noir landed on the hospital roof, but Adrien stepped through the door into the hospital. He reached Marinette's room seconds after Alya. She was breathless and red faced from running all this way. He was not. That would have irritated her if she wasn't delighted by the fact Marinette was awake.  
Tom and Sabine were sat by Marinette's bed, each side of her. She was sitting up and slurping up jelly, looking quite content and completely normal. Their eyes were fixed on Marinette. Had they not been, maybe they would have noticed the twisted, pained smiles that her parents gave. Their bitter sweet expressions were pleased their daughter was awake, but horrified by her condition.

"Mari!" Alya beamed, "you had me worried! I thought you were off on an adventure I couldn't go on with you."

"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere," she smiled.

"But are you really alright? Does it hurt?" Adrien asked, anxiously.

"No. I'm ok. I mean, I'm hungry, but I'm ok. Sorry, I'm being rude, my name's- Marinette is it?" She glanced at her parents.

Her mother forced a smile. "Yes sweetheart, well done."

"My name is Marinette. This is my mother and father apparently. We live in a bakery! Can you imagine?!" She giggled. Then she grinned up at Adrien and Alya, without a flicker of recognition, "and who are you two?"

Thunder struck. She didn't know them anymore. That was enough to break whatever joy and whatever hope they had stolen back with the news that she was ok.

"Who- who am I? I'm Alya... I'm your best friend... don't you remember me?"

Marinette shrugged. "Sorry."

Adrien and Alya stared at her. Then at each other. Then at her parents.

"Come outside you two, and we'll explain," tom said.

Tom and Sabine went first, leaving Marinette to her jelly. Alya followed, eager for answers, and Adrien lingered in the room. She looked fine. All of her injuries were on the inside. He felt a kinship with her. He was broken inside too.

"She doesn't remember anything. She's having trouble remembering even the simplest things. Actually pretty much anything accept that she likes jelly," Tom explained.

"Will it come back to her?" Alya asked.

"It should. Slowly at first. In patches. But it will all at once, randomly, at some point. At least that's what the doctor says," Tom explained.

"How long could it take?" Alya asked.

"Up to three years, if it happens at all," Sabine said, sorrowfully.

Tikki gasped in horror. Three years?! But she had to be ladybug! Who would capture akuma if she was here, unable to remember?!

"Really? Is there nothing we can do to jog her memory?" Alya asked desperately.

"We can try. Photos and smells are best, apparently. I'm going home to bake bread to bring here. Freshly baked bread is the only thing I can think of to help," Tom sighed heavily.

He didn't want to give up hope. He would never give up hope. But he only had one daughter and she looked at him like a stranger on the street, as if he hadn't cradled her in his arms the moment she was born, and hadn't left her side since. Sabine patted his arm understandingly. It was hard for her too, but they were ready to fight to get her back.

"And I'm going to find some pictures to help her remember. We were waiting for you to arrive so we could go," Sabine explained.

"I've got some pictures on my phone, maybe they can help," Alya said.

"Try. It can't make things worse," Tom nodded.

Adrien had no idea what to say. He didn't have photos of him and Marinette, other than the ones that they had taken at school for Juleka. He watched Marinette's parents walk away, and was left with Alya. She was swiping through old photos on her phone. The majority were photos of her and Marinette or her family or screenshots about ladybug she had sent to Marinette. She seemed to be losing composure.

Adrien reached out and laid a hand on her arm. "Are you alright Alya?"

Her first few attempts to explain ended in a spluttering mess of emotional explanations. Adrien waited for her to wade through to come back to an answer. "It just... when you look your best friend in the eye and you know she has no idea who you are..."

"She'll remember," he promised.

Alya glanced down to her inside pocket. "Can you help her Tikki?"

Tikki's antenna were low and worried. "I can try..."

 _Try_ was all they had. They were going to try every damn thing they had until something worked. First things first, she was going to face Tikki.

"Hey Mari, do you remember Tikki?" Alya asked, gently.

She held Tikki in cupped hands, and offered her to Marinette like Oliver asking for more food. Tikki gave her huge doll-eyes, and perked up her antenna hopefully. Marinette blinked in fascination. A smile grew across her face.

"You're adorable," she grinned.

Tikki's heart fell. Plagg felt his chest tighten. He didn't tell Adrien very often, but he couldn't do any of this without him. Adrien was the reason that Plagg mattered. Without him, Plagg was nothing. Without Plagg, Adrien was still a model. If Adrien ever forgot Plagg he'd die inside, and Plagg was apathetic. Tikki was a constant optimist.

"Marinette do you remember how you ended up here?" Tikki asked.

Marinette wrinkled her mind and tried hard to remember. Plagg and Tikki shared a slightly concerned look. Marinette sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I can't. Someone said I was on a bridge or something, but I don't remember,"

"You were being Ladybug,"

"Ladybug?"

Alya held out her phone for Marinette to take. The Lady blog was open to educate her. Marinette moved her jelly aside and took Alya's phone. She peered down at the screen for a moment, and then gasped. Her eyes flicked up onto Adrien, shining with recognition that lifted his chest hopefully.

"I thought you looked familiar!" She cried.

Alya grinned. All those posters on her bedroom wall and all that stammering when he came close were finally coming in useful! Marinette dropped Alya's phone, and reached for a magazine on the bedside table and held it up. It was an old magazine. On the front page there was a photo of Adrien and Chole modelling their matching outfits. Alya's face fell. She glanced down at her phone. A pop-up had taken over the screen, advertising Gabriel's latest perfume. Adrien was the model in the advert.

"You're this model aren't you!" Marinette beamed, "is this your girlfriend? She's pretty. Is she nice?"

"That's Chole! You hate Chole! She's evil!" Alya scowled in disgust.

Adrien's heart sank back down. Marinette was so used to playing with her yo-yo that she was still playing with it now. only it wasn't her yo-yo, it was his heart. Up. down. Up. down. He fell for it every damn time.

Adrien bowed his head, and said, softly, "She's not evil. But she's not nice. And she's not my girlfriend."

Marinette hummed in disappointment. "Shame. You look cute together."

A shot to the heart. That tore Adrien so deeply that it ripped through Alya twice. Alya squeezed her phone so tightly that she cracked the plastic edges. She gritted her teeth sharply.

"Get your memory back," she warned. "Quickly."

Tikki crept down the bed. She crawled onto Marinette's knee, and smiled up at her, hopefully.

"Can I stay with you?"

Marinette tilted her head. "Don't you belong with... um..."

Alya felt her chest ache harder. "Alya..."

"Right."

"No. I'm your kwami. I'm your secret... let me stay with you. But you can't tell anyone about me, and no one can know I'm here," Tikki insisted.

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that a boring life? How do you make friends if you can't be seen? Aren't you lonely?"

Adrien caught his breath in his throat. He had never looked at it from that view before. Or, he might have, but not at the forefront of his mind. Not enough to actually think about it. he glanced down at Plagg. Was Plagg lonely?

Tikki crept forward and shook her head softly. "I'm not lonely. Never. Because I never leave your side. I'm never lonely when I'm with you."

Plagg glanced up at Adrien. He didn't think he was lonely when he was with Adrien, but he knew he was never lonely when Tikki was around. Maybe it was just because they were the same. But Tikki must have been feeling pretty lonely right now, even with everyone around her. Plagg moved forward to comfort her, when the door opened. He dove back and Tikki shot under the pillow. A nurse gave them a smile.

"Good morning. My, my, Marinette, you were hungry! That was your third bowl!" she chuckled, brightly.

Marinette blushed a little, "I didn't eat for days!"

"That's true. Maybe we'll find you something a little more solid to eat later. Right now we have you booked in for an MRI scan. Are you ready?"

"Can I walk? I've been in bed for days and I want to stretch my legs."

"Sure, but I'll bring the wheelchair, just in case you're not stable enough yet."

They stood back as Marinette climbed out of the bed. She leaned heavily on the bed as she tried to keep herself upright. Then she let go, and her legs shook, before collapsing. Quick as a flash, Adrien caught her, and helped her back to her feet. Marinette giggled.

"Nice catch!"

Adrien smiled. He was hopelessly smitten with her. Her giggle won his heart all over again every time. Even when she looked at him, like she had never seen him before.

"There's only room for one relative in the observation room with the doctor. Do you want to choose?" The nurse asked Marinette.

Alya and Adrien felt like screaming for her to choose them, but screaming wouldn't work. Bribing and guilt tripping wouldn't either. She wouldn't remember why she had to feel guilty.

"Adrien is already holding on, might as well go with him," Marinette shrugged.

Adrien felt a bubble of pride that she had chosen him and Alya bit her lip to hide her envy. She couldn't have gone anyway, she consoled herself, she had Tikki to care for. Marinette and the nurse didn't even say goodbye as they left Alya lingering in the room. Alone again, the fake confidence she had been showing, broke apart. A hot tear ran down her cheek as she sniffed. Tikki crept out from under the pillow, and sat on top of it, miserably.

"I didn't realise how it beautiful everything was when she loved me. Every hour we spent together are burning in my heart and she has no idea. When she was sad I dried her tears, and when was happy, so was I, and all through summer and fall she was all I had and all I wanted. Just she and I together... Like it was meant to be," Tikki sniffed.

"And me. When she was lonely, I was there to comfort her. I knew that she loved me, and I hope she knew I love her," Alya's voice was hushed. "Why does this feel lonely?"

"Because we've been forgotten. Now she doesn't look our way..." Tikki closed her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek.

The worst part was when she did. When she gave them that smile, or when she stoked Tikki's hair affectionately, just like she used to do, it gave them hope. Hope that every hour they spent together was back within her heart. That she remembered that she loved them. Because they loved her. Which made the blow more crushing when she apologised for being too intimate and made herself feel awkward. They loved her, and she had no idea anymore.

Marinette wasn't supposed to talk in the MIR so Adrien payed eager attention to what the doctors and nurses said as they fussed around. The rare thing he could understand didn't give him anymore hope. Then they decided that Marinette was too rattled by visitors to heal properly, so Alya and Adrien had to leave. Tikki left too. Marinette didn't understand why she wanted to stay, so Tikki couldn't.

Plagg lost his appetite, despite the mound of cheese beside him in Adrien's bedroom.

"Will there be sunshine tomorrow?" Adrien sighed.

"I can find a silver lining," Plagg offered.

"What do you think about tomorrow? Will it bring joy or sorrow?"

"I have a silver lining."

"Is it wrong to put my hopes together and wish for something better? I know we belong together and I know we have a future, but all I can think of is grey clouds when I used to see rainbows," Adrien sighed again, heavily.

"Adrien you're not listening again," Plagg said.

"I guess we would find a way to chase the gloom away. Then if troubles cast a shadow

we can deal with that another day... Tomorrow is another day..."

Plagg didn't try to explain himself again. He waited until Adrien was laying flat on his back staring up at the ceiling, with the light off, pretending to be asleep. Plagg curled up on his chest, as usually.

"Hey Adrien? Do you want to know something good that's come from this?" Plagg purred.

"What?" Adrien asked, gloomily.

Plagg raised his head, his eyes glowing with affection, "Your father listened to you when you stood up to him, and he did what you wanted. That's something to show that he loves you."

Adrien's mouth twitched into a smile, but it died as soon as it lived. "Oh yeah."

Plagg frowned. "You don't sound as happy I thought you would."

"I'm worried. I had my mother's love, and then Marinette's, and now my fathers. It's like only one person at a time can love me, and I'm worried if father does, Marinette won't anymore. Because she'll forget..."

Plagg lowered his head against Adrien's chest so his low purring could find its way through to his heart. His whiskers brushed against Adrien as he whispered a promise.

"We'll find a way to show her you love her."

Adrien yawned, "Maybe she'll remember chat noir better..."

Plagg didn't know how possible that was, but it seemed unlikely. However he assumed it would be easier to sleep with hope in your head than doubt, so he didn't belittle it, as he would at any other time.


	17. Chapter 17

Early Sunday morning, Alya, Adrien, Tom and Sabine were gathered around the bed, handing her things to try and jog her memory. Nothing seemed to be working. Not even the fresh bread. Tom and Sabine left when they had to open the bakery again. They were running low on stock and had a lot of work to do before lunch. Meanwhile Nino was trying to find anything in his house that might help her to remember who she was. He was heading up a collection at school to gather up things from his friends that could her.

Nathanael had been busy working on something for that, and now it was ready, he was too excited to wait for Nino to collect it. He came strolling in now, already turning red.

"Heya Marinette," he grinned.

Marinette sat bolt upright. Faint images of playing nurse as a toddler ran through her mind. Nathanael tripped on the ground and cut his knee. He was crying, so she cleaned it with a cloth, and stuck a plaster on. Then she gave the plaster a magic kiss, and Nathanael turned bright red, to prove it was magic!

Marinette lit up. "NATHANEAL!"

Everyone in the room whipped around to stare at her in various stages of delight, horror, and shock.

"NATHANEAL?! YOU REMEMBER NATHANEAL?!" Adrien complained loudly.

Now she had once memory, more unfolded from it, centred purely around Nathanael. "Sure! He drew a picture of a butterfly for me when we were in little school, did you Nath?"

She gave him that dazzling smile. The one that always floored him.

He smiled back, blushing harder, and muttered, "I drew you a lot of pictures, one might have been a butterfly. But this one will help you more."

Nathanael pulled a sketch book out of his bag and handed her a page he had torn from it. It showed their trip to the lake. Every member of her class (apart from Sabrina and Chole) were in it, and in a lot of detail. Almost photographic. Right down to the pawprint sunburn on Marinette's back. She gasped in awe.

"This is amazing!" She beamed.

"It really is, excellent work dude," Alya beamed.

"Thanks. I thought it might remind you of people and help you remember things," Nathanael murmurs.

"Look at Nino. He's most of the reason we won that fight. He's great on his feet," Marinette giggled.

Adrien's chest ached. "You remember _Nino_?"

Marinette nodded urgently. The more she stared at this picture, the more fragments came back to her. Skipping stones, the icy cold, blue lips, a sunburn that ached and she desperately kept hidden. The details still escaped her, but she could remember the parts that made her smile.

"I remember this day. Parts of it anyway," her smile faded momentarily as she pointed to the title written in pen in the corner. "Why does it say high-low?"

"Don't tell her. The more she thinks about it the more likely she is to remember," Alya said urgently.

Marinette hadn't taken her eyes off the painting for almost three full minutes now. She searched each of the detailed faces for someone else she could remember. Rose tugged at her memory, but none of the others did.

"Do you like it?" Nathanael asked.

"She remembered Nino because of it, didn't she? And she remembered you," Alya grinned.

"God knows why," Adrien grumbled, jealously.

Alya threw an arm around Nathanael's shoulders, proudly, "You did good Nath. You did amazing!"

Tikki nuzzled against Marinette's arm proudly. "You did good, girl. I'm proud of you."

By the time the gorilla arrived to usher Adrien to the final fitting of his father's latest designs, Adrien had made up his mind. He was going to get Marinette to remember him. Even if he had to use Chat Noir to make it happen.

This wasn't fun for any of them. Marinette felt broken. Every time she tried to talk to someone she ended up upsetting them. Not deliberately. They would make a pun or reference something that she wouldn't understand and they would upset themselves. Or she would point out something about what they were saying, and they would know it was different to what they knew. To what they wanted her to know too. But she could remember Nino and Nathanael. She remembered them well. Some of what she remembered didn't make sense. She was missing bits and pieces that made them make sense. Like that time she and Nino were hiding underneath a table, hidden by the table cloth, making sure they only ate the blue cupcakes, to annoy whoever was stomping back and forth furiously on the other side of the table cloth. She didn't understand that memory, but it made her smile. Especially when they got caught and Nino's teeth had turned blue from too much frosting. That was the day they had met.

"Is Nino coming to visit?" Marinette asked a nurse hopefully.

The nurse gave her a puzzled look. "Nino?"

"A friend of mine. I remember him," Marinette grinned, proudly.

The nurse smiled back, "great!"

"So, is he visiting?"

"No, sorry. No more visitors. Visiting time starts again tomorrow at nine, maybe he'll come then."

Marinette's shoulders sagged. "I doubt it, tomorrow's Monday. They'll all be at school."

"sorry sweetie. No visitors after dark unless there's an emergency," The nurse apologised.

She left Marinette to rest, but Marinette wasn't tired. She'd done nothing but lay around for days and she wanted to go for a walk. Or to talk to someone. She found herself missing Tikki, but wasn't entirely sure why. Suddenly there was a shadow across the wall. It had a human shape with triangle ears on top of its head and a tail trailing behind it. As a shadow it was mildly sinister. Marinette frowned at it, suspiciously as it dashed past her door. She turned her head, and the cat spun on his heels to hurry into her room. He shut the door behind it urgently, his eyes wide and his heart pounded.

"What are-"

He shushed her. She blinked in surprise but shut up. He listened keenly for the sounds of nurses walking this way. After a moment or two, he accepted that none were coming. He heaved a sigh of relief, and flashed her a cocky grin.

"Heya princess, sorry to crash in like this," he smirked.

Marinette watched him in bewilderment as he wandered over and climbed into the bed by her feet. She curled her feet up under her, and sat up properly. In the lamp light she recognised him as Chat Noir.

"are you remembering anything yet?" he asked, hopefully.

Marinette's shock set aside to become unimpressed, and strangely comfortable around him. it was as though she had known him for years, but she had never seen him outside of Alya's videos before.

"I remember the nurse saying visitors weren't allowed after dark unless it was an emergency,"

she said, pointedly.

"Well don't tell on me and I won't tell on you for being awake when you should be resting,"

he winked.

She felt the corner of her mouth twitch up at that arrogant wink. She might not remember him, but he had left a paw print on her heart was glowed in recognition of his presence.

"I'm bored of resting," she said, seriously.

He chuckled affectionately. "You never could sit still."

"I wouldn't know," she shrugged.

His smile faded. "Don't you remember anything new Mari? Anything at all?"

"I remember..." she was going to tell him about Nino and the cupcakes, but something in her told her not to. Marinette didn't know who she was, but she knew she had to trust instincts that stayed even when she didn't understand them. They were important. "I remember that you're Chat Noir. You're Ladybug's partner. Alya showed me everything you and Ladybug have done. Its impressive."

"Nah it's all Ladybug. She's amazing..." he glanced over at Marinette, and he couldn't stop himself saying, "I really miss her."

Adrien winced. He expected her to be offended by that, but she wasn't. Marinette was still having doubts about whether she actually was ladybug or not, but before she could tell him this, she got distracted. Marinette tilted her head and watched him, frowning a little, her eyes shining with thought and recognition.

"I know you..." she said, slowly.

"You do?" He asked, hopefully.

Adrien felt his heart rise before he could catch it. She always got him. She would strike him down in a minute.

"I walked with you..." she said.

His smile grew. "You did!"

"that look in your eyes is so familiar... I know you. I'm sure. You loved me once..."

Adrien's heart lifted. She remembered him! She finally remembered Chat Noir! But then she shook her head and laughed.

"It must have been once upon a dream," she giggled, "are you a dream?"

Adrien's heart hit the floor. She dreamed of him. She thought she was dreaming now. She didn't think he was real. Now he understood what Alya had meant. She looked right into his eyes, so sweetly, but utterly innocently. His heart broke again. His lady was lost and his princess had no idea who he was. It was enough to make him cry.

He gulped and took a seat on the edge of her bed. "No. I'm not a dream. I'm real. See?"

He held out his hand. Marinette reached out and took it. She gasped and grinned at his claws, which simultaneously lifted and broke his heart again. She was precious. Broken, but precious. Just like him.

"In my dream you loved me. That's silly. Why would a hero like you like a girl like me?"

"Because you're my ladybug,"

"Now you sound like Tikki."

Chat Noir cupped his hand in hers, and stared down at her hand. "I know you. know it's true that things are rare my what they seem, but I know you'll love me again. Just like in that dream."

She chuckled at him, and smiled at how rough his hands were. Or how rough his gloves were anyway. Suddenly something hit her like a thunderbolt. The last time she clearly remembered those hands were when he was attacking her for her earrings. But then he had been controlled by a doll. A doll? Why was a doll after her earrings? Marinette frowned deeply.

"What?" he asked, concerned.

"It doesn't make sense... why would you want my earrings? And why would you let a doll control you to get my earrings?" she asked.

"Do - are you remembering the puppeteer?"

"The what?"

"A little girl wanted some dolls you made, so Hawk Moth -"

"The man who wants ladybugs miraculous to get ultimate power?"

"That's him," Chat grinned, proud of her for remembering what Alya had told her, "he used that child by letting her control your dolls like puppets to get the miraculous. I was one of the dolls."

Marinette stared into space as she tried to remember the dolls. There was a hazy memory there. She glanced over at drawing that was still laid out on her table.

"Nathanael was one. He drew pictures and they came to life. Didn't he?"

"The Evillustrator did. Nathanael's just a kid in your class. No one's themselves one the akuma find them," Chat Noir said, firmly.

Marinette searched the picture he had drawn for herself. she was there, on Nino's shoulders, in the water, paw print sun-burn still on display. She smirked.

"He's got talent."

Begrudgingly, Adrien agreed. "He does. So do you."

He pulled her sketchbook closer to see the dresses she had doodled in the margins. She recognised one or two but they didn't unlock anything new.

"Do you fly like ladybug?" she asked, suddenly.

Chat had no idea where this was going. He'd never understood her before this, and he definitely didn't understand now. instead, like then, he just rolled with it.

"Sort of. I have a staff that I can use," he explained.

"Can you reach the stars?" she asked.

"Sometimes I feel like I can," he said.

She sighed. that wasn't good enough. He glanced over at her. The moonlight spilling through the window lit her face and illuminated her eyes. There were no stars out tonight.

"your eyes are like sapphires sparkling so bright. They make the morning radiant and light," he said.

She smirked. "It's eleven."

Chat's ears drooped, but he couldn't help grinning. She was still comfortable enough to tease him. she didn't tease the others. maybe she didn't remember him, but she knew him.

"Well you'll make the morning radiant," he said.

Marinette chuckled warmly, and turned her head to stare up out of the window again. chat wanted to reach out and take her hand, but he stopped himself. he didn't want to push her. she was still broken, and a tap in the wrong way could shatter.

"When you wish upon a star, and it doesn't matter who you are, anything your heart desires comes true. Because if your heart can dream, no request is too extreme," she said, softly.

"I know. Fate is kind. She brings to those who love the fulfilment of their secret longing right out of the blue. I know, because it came to me as suddenly as it came to you," Chat explained.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at his knowing tone. "to me?"

"When a star is born they possess a gift or two. One of them is the power to make a wish come true, but only if you're a dreamer. because a dream is a wish your heart makes. so you've got to be wishing for something. What is it?" he asked.

"if you tell a wish, it won't come true," she pointed out.

He laughed. "that's true. fine. don't tell me. I'll guess."

Marinette gave him a puzzled look. Marinette glanced him up and down. He seemed to know what she was thinking, even though he didn't know this version of her. whatever their relationship had been before, the bond was deep. Tikki said she was ladybug, so she should know Chat Noir, but that she didn't know who Chat Noir was, and Chat Noir didn't know who Ladybug was. if he didn't know she was Ladybug, he was here because he was worried about Marinette. by that logic, Chat Noir had a relationship with her as Marinette and her as Ladybug. Or he was just worried because she got injured during the battle he was supposed to be defending her from. For some reason, all she could think was, _have YOU had an injury at work that wasn't your fault?!_

"go on then," she challenged.

Chat Noir folded one arm across his chest and tapped a finger of the other against his chin, thoughtfully. His emerald eyes shone brightly as he did. Clearly joking was his go to response to any situation. Marinette wondered why. What was he hiding behind those jokes? What made him have to laugh, so he didn't cry?

"are you hungry?" he asked.

"I don't wish with my stomach, who does that?!" she laughed.

"I know some people!" Chat insisted.

Plagg rolled his eyes. he didn't wish with his stomach! He let his stomach influence his heart.

"Do you wish everyone would stop trying to get you to remember things?" he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. "Huh?"

Chat licked his lips, nervously, "Are people pushing you too hard to remember?" _Am I?_

Marinette frowned. She liked having people around, but she preferred her father and the nurses, or Nino and Nathanael. Her father didn't push her to remember things, he just liked to joke, and get her to tell him if the food here was terrible, because then he'd sneak in food from the bakery for her. The nurses didn't try to push her into anything either, and smiled at all the questions she had, answering whatever ones they could. Nino couldn't visit out of school hours because his mother wouldn't let him. He had homework and things that kept him busy, and he'd need good grades in case this DJ thing fell through. Nathanael was shy. He had done his part to try and help her and now he was done. Leaving her to her friends, that she couldn't remember, because they had grown too far apart for him to know what to say anymore. She missed him, but she understood. Marinette hadn't thought about how people were pushing her to remember things she just couldn't. now it was the only thing she noticed.

"I wish that I could see the stars from here. Nothing more. I had a skylight in my bedroom so I could see them before I fell asleep. It's hard to sleep without them," she explained.

He smiled. She remembered her skylight. He didn't point that out, but he did smile proudly.

"do you want me to stay until you fall asleep? I mean, I'm not as pretty as the stars-"

"but your conversations can bore me to sleep?"

Her eyes sparkled mischievously, and he couldn't be mad at her. he grinned.

"something like that, princess."

"I'd like if you'd stay, but only if it doesn't take you away from anything more important."

"nothing's more important."

He was full of shit and she knew it. but it was cute that he was trying. She felt herself warming to that silly cat, and whoever was behind that mask. He climbed off the bed and sat in the chair beside her. he folded his arms on his stomach, and stretched out, like he was settling in for a long night.

"what do you want to talk about then?" he asked.

His eyes twinkled, and the moonlight made his messy hair a halo. Marinette tilted her head. He was handsome too. Sweet, funny, and handsome. What a dangerous trio.


	18. Chapter 18

"What do we do if there's an akuma and she doesn't know who she is?"

"It's been two weeks and there hasn't been one, maybe he thinks she's dead."

"Wow. Cheerful."

Adrien wasn't in the mood for cheerful. Marinette had been in hospital for two weeks and was no closer to remembering him. Or ladybug. His father never asked about her, or him, or his declaration of love, because he didn't care. He also decided that it was time for Adrien to move on and had booked the studio tonight to make him work again. Alya and Adrien were hanging around the school entrance waiting for Nino to catch up with them. He was supposed to be coming to visit Marinette with them, but was yet to appear.

"If Hawk Moth breaks in and steals her earrings, what'll happen to Tikki?" Alya asked.

Tikki had been left with Marinette, per her request. Marinette had been lonely, and missed Tikki terribly, so asked Tikki to stay with her. Now Alya was the one missing Tikki.

"I don't know," Adrien said.

"Well where's Plagg, he'll know," Alya said.

"Taking a cat nap."

"Always when you need him!"

"Need who?" Nino asked as he wandered into earshot.

"You! We've been waiting forever," Alya saved herself.

"Sorry I had to help Rose find Ivan," Nino apologised.

"Let's not waste time, let's go," Adrien ushered.

Nino had never seen Adrien like this before. Before she got hurt Adrien never seemed to care about Marinette in any special way. She was his friend, but nothing more. Now he seemed to be head over heels for the girl. He hurried over to the seat by the window to sit close to her. She grinned at him warmly. Spending all this time together had made her grow fond of him. Well that and going through the pictures on her phone now she finally had it back. There were dozens of photos of him. More than of her and Alya. They must have been close before. Nino flashed a grin as he walked in.

"Sorry we're late I was with Rose," he explained.

"Oh Rose! It was her birthday!" Marinette gasped, a smile curling across her face, "she was upset because she didn't want blue cupcakes she wanted PINK cupcakes, that's why I stole all the blue ones and me and you ate them all! That makes more sense!"

Nino burst into laughter. "You remember that? We were seven!"

"I remember that!" She beamed back.

"I threw up blue frosting everywhere and mum was _not_ pleased," Nino grinned.

"I can imagine," Adrien smirked.

He was a little disappointed that she remembered something to do with Rose before something to do with him, but she appeared to remembering things chronologically, and they didn't meet until fairly recently. Plus when she remembered things like that, he got to know his best friend a little better, which was cool. And she would smile like she'd just found buried treasure, which never failed to make him smile.

"We met that day, didn't we?" Nino asked.

"Dude, her memory is the problem, why would she remember?" Alya tutted.

"That was the day we met," Marinette nodded.

Nino gave Marinette a smug look. "See? She remembers the people who matter."

That stung Adrien deeper than he would care to admit. It was meant to be a blow to Alya, and he knew it wasn't true because she didn't remember her parents. Still, it hurt.

"Rose would say all you needed was true loves kiss," Nino continued.

"Rose says a lot of things that aren't always true," Alya pointed out.

"Yeah but dude, when you meet the one who was meant for you, you get together you share true loves kiss and fix everything," Nino insisted.

Alya couldn't help but glance over at Adrien. Her best friend had fallen in love with him and she didn't remember anymore. That was heart-breaking enough for her, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like for Adrien. Especially when Nino was talking about true love.

"True - true loves kiss?" Marinette tilted her head, curiously.

"I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss, and a princess I'm hoping comes with it," Adrien interrupted, trying to jog her memory.

She was his princess. If he reminded her of that, maybe she'd finally remember him.

"To find who can fix you we need to know who you love. you _need_ true love's kiss," Nino insisted.

"Really?" Marinette sounded uncertain.

"That's what brings ever after so happy! And that's the reason we need lips so much. I suggest we set up a kissing booth and let everyone in the city come and kiss you," Nino declared.

"What if her true love isn't in the city?" Alya challenged.

"Then we take the kissing booth on the road and go from city to city all across France until we find him," Nino said.

"And if he's not in France?" Alya folded her arms, stubbornly.

"Then we tour the world until we find him. It will be difficult and dangerous, and it could take years to find him, but we won't stop until we do, because we love you Marinette, and we won't stop until you're better!" Nino dramatically threw an arm in the air like a knight declaring a quest.

Adrien and Alya stared at him. Alya with a smirk, Adrien with a look of alarm. His father would never let him leave Paris alone, even for a quest like this. Nino still grinned manically at the very idea of all this. Tikki's eyes widened. Marinette couldn't leave Paris! Hawk moth was here! He needed to be defeated before she could leave. Plagg, however, was intrigued by the idea of foreign cheeses in easy access. Travelling and eating was fun. It would be easy to escape Gabriel's bad moods if they ran. All six of them crammed into a car driving through the world, growing, learning, experiencing together that would bond them in ways no one would understand, sounded amazing. Especially if at the end of it Marinette got to remember them again. She could realise why Alya was her best friend twice. She could continue to reminisce about Nino and uncover things she had forgotten. She could fall in love with Adrien all over again and he could realise that she was falling this time. They wouldn't have to fight. They wouldn't have to put up with Chloe or Gabriel. They could just stay together and be happy.  
To Plagg, that was the dream.

Marinette cocked her head at Nino, and smirked. "You're messing with me."

Nino dropped his hand and grinned back at her. "You got me."

Marinette laughed, and leaned backwards as she did. This made a small black and yellow doll peer out from underneath the covers. Adrien reached out and took it, grinning. Chat Noir's ears were a little misshapen from being crushed while she slept, but he was still cute.

"This is the cat's meow," Adrien grinned.

Alya glared at him with genuine disappointment in her eyes. He could do better.

"He's really well made! I recognise the stitching you did it yourself," Adrien said, impressed.

Marinette blushed and reached over to pull it back. Chat sat in her lap for the rest of the visit.

"It's easier to sleep with hi - with this," Marinette explained.

There wasn't any home comforts that made her feel comfortable, but this Chat Noir doll did. Tikki too. And as long as she didn't have the ability to count the stars, she had to make do with talking to Tikki all night until she could squeeze the doll hard enough to make her sleep. It didn't work well, but it was better than nothing.

"They say I can go home tomorrow. There's nothing more they can do here, so I have to wait until I go home and hope the smell of the bakery brings everything back," Marinette changed the subject pointedly.

"that's great!" Adrien beamed.

Alya was less convinced. "If the fresh bread didn't, I wouldn't hold much hope that the bakery will."

"Hope is all I have," Marinette pointed out.

"Don't worry, I know a guy with a kissing booth," Nino winked.

Once again Marinette burst into laughter. She liked their lunch time visits. The routine of them kept her sane. She wished that she could remember old jokes to tease them with, but she couldn't. Even so they hadn't abandoned her. That was something that warmed her heart. Whoever she had been, these lot loved her enough to stick it out till she could remember them again. She wanted to be that person again.  
That was the best kind of person to be.

"do you want me to help you settle in when you get home?" Alya asked.

"How?" Marinette asked.

"I don't know, girl, by telling you where everything is? I know your room like it's my own, I can show you where everything is," Alya shrugged.

"Sounds... awesome," Marinette forced a smile.

Adrien frowned a little. He recognised a forced smile when he saw one.

In a low voice that only Marinette could hear, he said, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Marinette turned her head to stare at him in surprise. She was ready to lie to him, in the way she'd lied to everyone else when they asked if she was ok. Marinette felt this need to be strong. To have everyone see her as unfazed by her troubles. But when she looked into his pure green eyes she felt a swell of ease. Something in his expression was familiar. The look of concern in his gaze, the mess of his blonde hair, he was so deeply familiar that she felt him stir her heart.  
Quite like how Chat Noir had last night.

Marinette sighed and hung her head. "I want out of here. Do you know how long I've been stuck inside for? I want to see the sky. I want to see the stars!"

"The stars?" Alya repeated.

Marinette nodded. "I love the stars."

Adrien glanced down at the Chat Noir doll again. He imagined taking her up to the roof just to look at the stars. Chat could whisk her off her feet and set her in her comfort zone when no one else could. Adrien didn't understand it, but he'd seen it. She didn't remember Chat, but she loved him. Chat could make going home easier.

"You've got your skylight at home, above your bed. You can see the stars through that," Alya said.

"Yeah... but I'll have so many other problems to deal with," Marinette sighed.

Nino laid a hand on her shoulder, and leaned down so his eyes were level with hers, and she couldn't look away.

"No matter how tough those problems get, you won't be alone. You are loved Marinette. Whether you remember it or not you are loved. We won't leave you even if it gets hard," Nino promised.

Marinette stared at him. Suddenly she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Adrien felt a twinge of envy. Tikki smiled warmly. Things might be hard, but it was going to be ok. She really felt that now. Everything was going to be fine.

Marinette sat Chat Noir carefully on the edge of the shelf, beside the other dolls. Lady Wi-Fi smiled at her as she did. Marinette was dressed in baggy, warm, soft pyjamas. Her bedroom smelt faintly of cinnamon and cookies. The room was larger than her hospital room, and taller. It had many things crammed inside that looked familiar. Things that she should know, that she just didn't. Tikki sat on her specially made cushion, watching Marinette as she adjusted the way the doll sat.

"I feel like I should say something but I don't know what," Tikki said.

Marinette glanced up at her. "Um... well, do you know what my relationship with Chat Noir is?"

"You're Ladybug. Chat Noir is your partner. The bond is deeper than even I understand," Tikki explained.

"But he knows me. Marinette me. I thought he didn't know who I was," Marinette insisted.

"Well..."

Tikki had been insisting that no one could know that she was Ladybug and no one could know Tikki was with her. To suddenly back track and reveal that Chat Noir already knew who she was because Chat Noir was actually Adrien, was difficult. Thankfully she glanced up to see Chat dusting himself down on the balcony.

"Ask him yourself," Tikki suggested.

Marinette's heart warmed as she watched Chat running his claws through his messy hair, trying to make it neater. He was grooming himself before going to see her. Every time he ran his hand through his hair it stuck up in different ways that looked great, but made him hurriedly smooth them back into place. He got flustered as he continuously tried to push down his hair. She giggled. Chat Noir jumped as he realised he was being watched.

"MARI! I WAS - I mean I was just - I wasn't - um..."

Marinette giggled again as his ears turned pink. Her heart was glowing. She climbed up onto the balcony while he stammered for an answer. He stammered still, slower now, as she wandered closer, and reached out towards him. He fell silent and stared at her hand as she reached up and gently fixed his hair for him. Her hand in his hair felt so good. So close. So affectionate. Chat was so taken aback by it he didn't react in time and a purr slipped out. Marinette's eyes widened in surprise. He blushed deeper. Marinette burst into laughter. Chat smiled sheepishly. He felt foolish, but his heart was glowing to hear her laugh.

"How are you?" He asked when he could finally control his voice again.

Marinette shrugged. "Tired. But it's worth it to finally see the stars again."

"Just tired?" Chat asked.

Marinette's smile fell. Instead of answering, she raised her head to gaze up at the stars above them. She hadn't stopped thinking about what he asked her last time. People were desperate for her to remember who she had been rather than let her figure out who she was. Her eyes gleamed with stars now, and chat couldn't look away.

"Your eyes really are sapphires," he muttered.

She glanced over at him, and blushed when she realised he was staring.

"How do you feel? Honestly this time. You don't have to lie to me, I won't think less of you," he said.

Marinette bowed her head this time. She didn't want to lie to him. "Like a question to the world. I have loads of questions and every time I have answers they bring more questions."

Adrien thought back to the moment he held her in his arms. Everything he had to say he should have them. He thought he'd have time. That she wouldn't listen then, but maybe she'd listen in the future. Well she would listen, but she wouldn't understand.

"Mari... you don't remember me, and I can't be what you want me to be - um, wanted me to be, but... I'll try," he promised.

Adrien lowered his head. "I'll try" isn't really something worth promising. Especially to the girl you love. He knew that. But he knew the pain of someone promising something they couldn't deliver. His mother, for example. She promised to always be there, and now she had left him with his father. His father would couldn't take him and throw him away, but would if he could.  
Adrien had grown used to being expected to learn what love was never shown, and to stand there alone, being judged. Even in the hospital, with that magazine, Marinette couldn't remember him but she recognised his magazine. It all fell into place. Messy hair or not this was Adrien. Her Adrien. Adrien from all the magazines. Which let him be judged without even being there.  
Her heart went out to him. She reached across the railings to take his hand in her own.

"Ad- um, Chat Noir, let's be real. I don't want you to be any different than you are," she promised.

He raised his head to meet her gaze again. "You don't?"

Marinette's hair bounced as she shook her head. "All I want is to touch things that I can't feel, and find a place where I belong. Everyone wants me to change into someone I don't know but they're the ones that are the same. You don't know me anymore."

Adrien stared at her for a moment and suddenly his entirely view changed. He saw her in a way he hadn't seen her before. He didn't know her. She didn't know him. She didn't expect anything from him. Maybe he could be everything she wanted him to be. All the fear left him in that moment.

"I want to tell you who I am," Adrien said softly.

Marinette's mouth twitched. "I know who you are."

Chat shook his head. "You know who they've tried to break me into. But only me and Plagg know who I am."

"But the magazines don't?" Marinette asked, pointedly.

Chat didn't pick up on what she meant. There were magazines about chat too after all. Paws for Thought was a personal favourite of his, but it was all gossip.

"No. Their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe and you shouldn't because they're not true," Chat insisted.

"Never?"

"Rarely."

Marinette's frown grew as she thought back to two weeks ago, sitting in a corner of a room full of strangers.

"Adrien and Alya put me in magazines," she said.

"But you're different. You needed help. This is just slander because of who my father is," Chat pointed out.

"Nino helped me without putting me in a magazine. So did Nathanael," Marinette countered.

Chat was beginning to realise his mistake. He tried to backtrack but it was too late for that now.

"Marinette I didn't-"

"And I don't even know if they're lies because I don't remember. I know I've forgotten everything I knew, but I'm still me. I'm still here. I deserve to know if I'm being lied about."

Chat Noir hand her hands and looked into her eyes, desperate and serious. "Nothing in that article was a lie. I promise. I would never let them lie about you."

Marinette immediately believed him. Instinct told her he was telling the truth, but that was too blunt for her to understand. It felt stupid.

She pulled her hand back. "Why should I believe you?"

It hurt that she didn't believe him, but he was desperate to prove himself, so he found an answer. "Because they lie about me. I know they're lies and I know it hurts to be lied about. So I'm never going to let them hurt anyone, especially someone I care about like I care about you."

A flicker lit her gaze. "You care about me?"

"Of course I do. You're everything to me," he insisted.

"Even if I never remember you?" She asked, softly.

Chat's smile twitched up automatically. "You mean if I get to watch you fall in love with me all over again and see it this time? That would be the greatest thing in the world."

Marinette looked at her shoes. "So you don't mind if I only know you from what I learn?"

Chat hesitantly laid a finger under her chin, to raise her head again. Seriously, heart achingly, he couldn't raise his voice above a whisper. The quiet spoke volumes.

"I love you whatever way you are because you're you."

Marinette's jaw shook. Everything she had done that had led her here had been buried at the back of her mind, somewhere out of the way, so it wouldn't hurt as much, so she could wait until things were safe again to start processing them. Now that she was here, with Adrien, she felt safe. And her brain started processing again. And everything that hurt came flooding back as tears. Adrien gasped. He hadn't meant to make her cry!  
Instinctively he threw his arms around her. As he pulled her closer, into a hug, she caught a whiff of his after shave. It threw her back to sitting pushed up against the window, smelling his aftershave as he ran down the minivan to catch up with them. Back to stammering and getting mixed up with her words, and Alya teasing her, and everyone else teasing her. She giggled against his chest.

"High-low Adrien."

Did she just call him Adrien? Chat Noir frowned. He pulled back, unwrapping his arms from around her shoulders, and holding her outstretched.

"What?"

She smiled at him, "I remember high-low."

Chat's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"I remember - I remember!" Marinette gasped suddenly, his shocked smile deepening as the realisation set in. "I REMEMBER!"

"WHAT?!" Chat cried, excitedly.

Marinette hopped up and down with excitement as an electric pulse ran through her mind, connecting up old memories, and brining everything back. Chat Noir couldn't contain his growing excitement as she danced around like a ball of energy.

"I REMEMBER! I REMEMBER EVERYTHING! I REMEMBER YOU ADRIEN!"

Marinette threw her arms around his middle and danced around him, laughing brightly, spinning around happily. He was lost for words. All except one.

"WHAT?!"

"I REMEMBER EVERYTHING! ITS ALL JUST BACK! I REMEMBER EVERYTHING AGAIN! ADRIEN, YOU DID IT!"

Marinette was so ecstatic that she could remember everything again that she got worked up. With nowhere else for her excitement to buzz, she grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him down to kiss him, hard and delighted. The kiss merged from delight to shock for her, and she tried to pull away, suddenly embarrassed. The kiss moved from shock to delight for him, and he pulled her back, so he would never have to let her go again.  
Marinette remembered him.  
that was all he wanted.  
Marinette loved him.  
that was all he dreamed of.

Marinette turned flamingo pink and pushed away from him. he could still feel the heat of her cheeks as she distanced herself. she kept pulling back until his arms fell from her lower back.

Changing from pink to scarlet, she turned her back on Chat and hurried urgently away. She leapt down onto her bed, where Tikki was hiding.

"What happened?!" Tikki asked, as if she didnt know.

"I kissed him Tikki! I kissed Adrien!" Marinette said, flustered.

Tikki gasped. "You know he's Adrien?!"

"YOU KNEW ADRIEN WAS CHAT?!" Marinette hissed.

"Since he joined your classroom."

"And you didn't mention that when he gave me his umbrella?!"

"You remember the umbrella?!"

"I remember everything."

"THAT'S AMAZING! I THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE YEARS!"

Marinette hissed at her to shush. There was a knock at the trap door, and Marinette's mother peered through, concerned. "Marinette are you ok?"

"Mum! Dad! I remember everything!" Marinette cried.

"everything?!" tom gasped.

"EVERYHTING!" Marinette laughed excitedly again.

Her mother and father gasped in delight and clambered into her bedroom to bundle her in to their arms. She finally knew her mother and father again. She finally remembered how to love them. Adrien's heart sank as he watched them. She had run away from him. He knew, logically, that she wanted to let her mother and father know that she was ok. Emotionally he felt cheated. Cheated of their first big moment. Their first proper kiss. It was supposed to be the two of them, him holding her in his arms, her pressed against him, melting into this kiss. It was supposed to last longer than this. Not end without a word as she runs back to her parents. This wasn't fair. She had a family that loved her, but she was all the love he had. He wanted just a minute or two more, but it was too late. She had moved on.


	19. Chapter 19

Alya was dancing around Marinette, throwing jokes to Tikki, and shouting to anyone who would listen about how awesome and strong Marinette was. Marientte blushed deeper than ever as she walked into the classroom to find everyone, except Chole, had set up a surprise party to welcome her back.

Nino shouted, loudly, "Lets hear it for Marinette, you ready? Hip-hip?!"

The three cheers rang through Marinettes chest and filled her with a wholesome delight. She loved these idiots so much.

"SHE JUST REMEMBERED THINGS IT'S NOT LIKE SHE DIED! GOD!" Chole fumed.

There was a general muttering of anger and offence at her impatience. Marinette should have been offended too, but honestly she was grateful to have the attention taken off of her. It was easier for everyone to move on from this when Chole was distracting them.

Adrien stared down at his desk. He was feeling far too shy to look up at her. He couldn't look up at her and not want to kiss her. That stupid kiss hadn't left his mind since it happened. None of it had. All it whirled through his head, rearranging over and over, twisting into all the things he could have done differently and all the ways it would have changed things.

If he'd held onto her for a little longer.

If he'd cupped her cheek more.

If he'd kissed her first.

If he'd kissed her deeper.

If he'd refused to let her go.

If he'd followed her.

If, if, IF!

Those stupid questions plagued him nonstop. Each one stung him deeper. Ached deeper. He couldn't figure out how to go back and make things right. He couldn't help thinking he'd missed his chance. That he'd scared her away by leaving her.

Alya tugged Marinettes arm eagerly towards their table. Marinette pulled her arm back.

"I'm gonna sit by Adrien," She said, softly.

Alya grinned. She bent down to Nino and whispered in his ear. Nino grinned up at Marinette and have him an OK sign with his hand. He stood up, and moved back to sit beside Alya. Marientte took a deep breath.

She had imagined this moment a dozen times at least. Sitting beside him, and teasing him like she teased Chat Noir. Tangling her fingers through his under the table. Plagg and Tikki hiding between them, like some kind of strange family. Now that she had to face it, she was hit with nerves. Ladybugs filled her stomach. She glanced over at Alya, nervously. Alya gave her an encouraging wink. Marinette took another deep breath. She took a seat beside adrien.

Adrien glanced up at her, expecting Nino, and had to do a double take. She smiled at the suprise in his eyes. He smiled back, still surprised, and delighted.

"Hi," he breathed.

"Where did you run off to?" She teased.

"I err... I didn't realise you knew who I was," he admitted.

Marinette gave him a sheepish look, "I figured it out last night."

"Before or after-"

"Before I kissed you. But long after I fell in love with you,"

Adrien's mouth fell open. He couldn't talk. He could only talk in wonder filled gasps and breaths. "Huh?"

Marinette giggled and blushed, just as much as his upper cheeks were turning pink.

"I fell in love with Adrien, and fell out of love with Adrien when I fell in love with Chat Noir," she explained.

"And I fell in love with Ladybug before I fell in love with Marinette. What a pair we are!" He chuckled.

She smiled back. Hesitantly, she reached for his hand under the table. With a little more confidence, he linked his fingers through hers, and raised her hand in his too kiss her knuckles. She blushed. She was certain she was never going to be fully used to that. He chuckled. This was a dream come true.

Adrien thought back over his life since that day the fur coat had made him feel sick, and no one cared. It seemed so long ago now. His father was trying harder to pretend he cared, but it didnt matter that he didn't, since he had Plagg and Nino and Alya and Tikki, and he had Marinette. He had his lady, his princess, his love. Now his future was looking even brighter, and he grinned at it.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he was. They were going to live happily ever after.


End file.
